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Born on 16 June 1965, Mr Lynch was the son of a nurse and a fireman, and was raised near Chelmsford in Essex.<\/p>\n
His first computer was a BBC Micro, and he wrote fondly of how it shaped his passion for programming in a 2011 BBC article celebrating 30 years of the device.<\/p>\n
While at school his “first foray into commercialisation of technology” came when designing a digital sampler that could sample music, then selling the designs, according to a 2017 interview.<\/p>\n
He continued the hobby while studying Natural Sciences at the University of Cambridge – where he said he annoyed his college by getting “solder in the carpets” of his room.<\/p>\n
While at Cambridge he earned a PhD in mathematical computing, and later undertook a research fellowship.<\/p>\n
In 1991, Mr Lynch helped establish Cambridge Neurodynamics – a firm which specialised in using computer-based detection and recognition of fingerprints.<\/p>\n
His tech firm Autonomy was created five years later, using a statistical method known as “Bayesian inference” at the core of its software.<\/p>\n
The company’s fast-paced growth and success throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s saw Mr Lynch earn a number of awards and accolades.<\/p>\n
In 2006 he was awarded an OBE in recognition of his service to UK enterprise.<\/p>\n
He served on the board of the BBC as a non-executive director, and in 2011 was appointed to the government’s council for science and technology – advising then-Prime Minister David Cameron on the risks and possibilities of AI development.<\/p>\n
Autonomy, and later its software Aurasma, was the front-of-shirt sponsor of Premier League team Tottenham Hotspur from 2010-2013.<\/p>\n
After Autonomy’s sale to HP in 2011 – from which Mr Lynch is believed to have earned \u00a3500m – he went on to establish tech investment firm Invoke Capital.<\/p>\n
The venture capital fund invested in the creation of British cyber security company Darktrace in 2013.<\/p>\n
Mr Lynch, who was a shareholder in the firm, held a seat on its board until earlier this year.<\/p>\n
“This was the beginning of a new life for Mike,” former cabinet minister Lord Deben told Times Radio. <\/p>\n
“He’s made such a contribution to Britain, his companies have put Britain in the forefront, and he was going to do it again,” said Lord Deben, who is the former Conservative MP John Gummer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/ichef.bbci.co.uk\/news\/240\/cpsprodpb\/9e4c\/live\/666be680-5e40-11ef-a18e-07b4efd360b4.jpg.webp)
<\/picture><\/span>Bloomberg\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n