Technology
Autonomy’s Mike Lynch was acquitted following a U.S. fraud trial brought by HP
Former Autonomy CEO Dr. Mike Lynch issued a statement Thursday after being acquitted of criminal charges, ending a 13-year legal battle with Hewlett-Packard that became certainly one of Silicon Valley’s biggest fraud cases. He was accused of falsely inflating the British startup’s revenue before its $11 billion sale to HP in 2011.
Commenting on the acquittal, Dr. Lynch (pictured above left as he appeared on the TechCrunch Disrupt conference) said: “I am thrilled with today’s verdict and grateful to the jury for the attention they have paid to the facts over the past ten weeks. My deepest thanks go to my legal team for working tirelessly on my behalf. I can’t wait to return to the UK and get back to what I love most: my family and innovation in my field.”
After a 12-week trial, the entrepreneur was cleared of 15 counts of fraud and conspiracy brought against him in reference to the 2011 takeover.
Lynch’s victory is notable in light of the indisputable fact that within the U.S., only 0.4% of federal criminal cases (in fiscal yr 2022, in line with the Pew Research Center) resulted in trial and acquittal, and only 12% of all Art. the foremost charge of wire fraud ends in acquittal.
Christopher Morvillo and Brian Heberlig, Dr. Lynch’s legal counsel, added in a statement: “We are delighted with the jury’s verdict, which reflects a strong rejection of the government’s deep dive into this case. The evidence presented at trial conclusively established that Mike Lynch was innocent. This verdict closes the book on a relentless 13-year effort to pin HP’s well-documented ineptitude on Dr. Lynch. Fortunately, the truth finally won. We thank Dr. Lynch for his confidence in this ordeal and hope that he will now be able to return home to England to resume his life and continue his innovations.”
Lynch (58) was previously extradited to the United States and placed under house arrest under 24-hour supervision before his trial. He has long maintained that HP scapegoated him, saying it botched its acquisition of Autonomy and later mismanaged the corporate’s software.
Lynch made £500m from selling Autonomy to HP. However, just a yr later, HP reduced the worth of its investment by $8.8 billion and lost $5 billion attributable to the so-called Autonomy’s revenue inflation, he claimed on the time.
Prosecutors accused Lynch and Chamberlain of illegally inflating pre-acquisition revenues and hiding high-margin software revenues in unprofitable hardware sales.
During the trial, Lynch successfully argued that he was not concerned with accounting and contractual matters, as a substitute specializing in technical and marketing matters.
Although an American jury argued unsuccessfully that the case needs to be tried within the UK, resulting in his extradition, it acquitted Lynch of all charges, together with Stephen Chamberlain, Autonomy’s former vice chairman of finance, who was also tried.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco said: “We acknowledge and respect the decision. We would love to thank the jury for paying attention to the evidence presented by the federal government on this case.”
The sale of Autonomy to HP was seen as validation of the booming UK tech scene, and the platform’s ability to mine unstructured databases was then seen as a way for HP to rebuild its shaky hardware business.
Lynch co-founded Autonomy in 1996 from a research group specializing in software called Cambridge Neurodynamics.
Awarded an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006, Lynch became an adviser to the UK government, sat on the boards of the BBC and the British Library, founded Invoke Capital VC and invested within the groundbreaking cybersecurity company Darktrace.
Technology
Revolut will introduce mortgage loans, smart ATMs and business lending products
Revolutthe London-based fintech unicorn shared several elements of the corporate’s 2025 roadmap at a company event in London on Friday. One of the corporate’s important goals for next yr will be to introduce an AI-enabled assistant that will help its 50 million customers navigate financial apps, manage money and customize software.
Considering that artificial intelligence is at the middle of everyone’s attention, this move shouldn’t be surprising. But an AI assistant could actually help differentiate Revolut from traditional banking services, which have been slower to adapt to latest technologies.
When Revolut launched its app almost 10 years ago, many individuals discovered the concept of debit cards with real-time payment notifications. Users may lock the cardboard from the app.
Many banks now can help you control your card using your phone. However, they’re unlikely to supply AI features that might be useful yet.
In addition to the AI assistant, Revolut announced that it will introduce branded ATMs to the market. These will end in money being spent (obviously), but in addition cards – which could encourage latest sign-ups.
Revolut said it plans so as to add facial recognition features to its ATMs in the longer term, which could help with authentication without using the same old card and PIN protocol. It will be interesting to see the way it implements this technology in a way that complies with European Union data protection regulations, which require explicit consent to make use of biometric data for identification purposes.
According to the corporate, Revolut ATMs will start appearing in Spain in early 2025.
Revolut has had a banking license in Europe for a while, which implies it may offer lending products to its retail customers. It already offers bank cards and personal loans in some countries.
Now the corporate plans to expand into mortgage loans – some of the popular lending products in Europe – with an emphasis on speed. If it’s an easy request, customers should generally expect immediate approval and a final offer inside one business day. However, mortgages are rarely easy, so it will be interesting to see if Revolut overpromises.
It appears that the mortgage market rollout will be slow. Revolut said it was starting in Lithuania, with Ireland and France expected to follow suit. Although all these premieres are scheduled for 2025.
Finally, Revolut intends to expand its business offering in Europe with its first loan products and savings accounts. In the payments space, it will enable business customers to supply “buy now, pay later” payment options.
Revolut will introduce Revolut kiosks with biometric payments especially for restaurants and stores.
If all these features seem overwhelming, it’s because Revolut is consistently committed to product development, rolling out latest features quickly. And 2025 looks no different.
Technology
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal is leaving PhonePe’s board
Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal has stepped down three-quarters from PhonePe’s board after making an identical move on the e-commerce giant.
Bengaluru-based PhonePe said it has appointed Manish Sabharwal, executive director at recruitment and human resources firm Teamlease, as an independent director and chairman of the audit committee.
Bansal played a key role in Flipkart’s acquisition of PhonePe in 2016 and has since served on the fintech’s board. The Walmart-backed startup, which operates India’s hottest mobile payment app, spun off from Flipkart in 2022 and was valued at $12 billion in funding rounds that raised about $850 million last 12 months.
Bansal still holds about 1% of PhonePe. Neither party explained why they were leaving the board.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Binny Bansal for being one of the first and staunchest supporters of PhonePe,” Sameer Nigam, co-founder and CEO of PhonePe, said in a press release. His lively involvement, strategic advice and private mentoring have profoundly enriched our discussions. We will miss Binny!”
Technology
The company is currently developing washing machines for humans
Forget about cold baths. Washing machines for people may soon be a brand new solution.
According to at least one Japanese the oldest newspapersOsaka-based shower head maker Science has developed a cockpit-shaped device that fills with water when a bather sits on a seat in the center and measures an individual’s heart rate and other biological data using sensors to make sure the temperature is good. “It also projects images onto the inside of the transparent cover to make the person feel refreshed,” the power says.
The device, dubbed “Mirai Ningen Sentakuki” (the human washing machine of the longer term), may never go on sale. Indeed, for now the company’s plans are limited to the Osaka trade fair in April, where as much as eight people will have the option to experience a 15-minute “wash and dry” every day after first booking.
Apparently a version for home use is within the works.
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