When a Tech Giant Goes To Court
Bloomberg Businessweek|March 09, 2020
HP and successor HPE have spent almost a decade trying to recoup $5 billion from entrepreneur Mike Lynch over a bad takeover
Jonathan Browning
When a Tech Giant Goes To Court
Back when everyone still said “big data” instead of “machine learning,” the U.K.’s Autonomy Corp. considered itself an early leader in sorting and analyzing huge troves of information about online behavior, from video views to Facebook likes. Hewlett-Packard Co. thought so too and, in 2011, wrote a $10.3 billion check to buy it.

That was validation not only for Britain’s “Silicon Fen” but also for Mike Lynch, the University of Cambridge graduate with a Ph.D. in mathematical computing who founded Autonomy in 1996. After building it into the country’s second-biggest software company, he personally made $815 million from Autonomy’s sale. The adulation quickly turned to scandal, however, for both HP and Lynch.

In 2012, HP wrote down the vast majority of the deal and alleged that Lynch had orchestrated a massive accounting fraud to dress Autonomy up for a sale. The company says it wants $5 billion in damages from Lynch and Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s finance director. But the nine-month, £40 million ($51 million) U.K. civil trial—among the longest and most expensive in modern British history—has painted an unflattering picture of the American corporation, full of infighting and internal skulduggery, documented in dueling emails and testimony from top HP executives. When HP split in two in 2015, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co. (HPE), the half that kept the AI division under former Chief Executive Officer and EBay Inc. legend Meg Whitman, continued the legal fight against Lynch.

Esta historia es de la edición March 09, 2020 de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición March 09, 2020 de Bloomberg Businessweek.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKVer todo
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 20 - 27, 2023