British tech tycoon Mike Lynch missing after superyacht sinks

The vessel was hit by a tornado before sinking off the coast of Sicily

British technology tycoon Mike Lynch, who’s from Ilford in Essex, is among six tourists missing after a luxury yacht sank in bad weather off the coast of Sicily, sources said.

A body, believed to be that of the vessel’s chef, has been found and 15 people were rescued, according to local media.

Four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, Italian news website la Reppublica stated.

The superyacht, named Bayesian, capsized at about 5am off Palermo and was flying a British flag, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic.

The body was found near the wreck at a depth of 50m (164ft), fire and rescue services said.

A spokesperson for Mr Lynch said there was no comment.

Who is Mike Lynch?

Michael Richard Lynch OBE DL FRS FREng, born on 16 June 1965, is a British technology entrepreneur who gained prominence as the co-founder of Autonomy Corporation and the founder of Invoke Capital.

Lynch is also known for co-founding the cybersecurity company Darktrace in conjunction with his venture capital firm, Invoke Capital. Over the years, he has held various advisory roles in the technology sector.

Lynch, who pursued a degree, PhD, and post-doctoral research at Cambridge University, applied his academic expertise in machine learning to establish several software companies.

This led him to become a key figure in the Cambridge technology cluster, often referred to as ‘Silicon Fen.’ His work in the technology industry reached a pinnacle with the sale of Autonomy Corporation to Hewlett-Packard in 2011.

However, the deal with Hewlett-Packard became the subject of significant legal scrutiny when Lynch faced allegations of fraud in relation to the transaction. This resulted in civil litigation in the UK, followed by Lynch’s extradition to the United States.

He went on trial in March 2024. In June 2024, Lynch was found not guilty of all charges.

In 2014 he was appointed as Deputy Lieutenant of Suffolk.

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