UK tech mogul Mike Lynch dies at 59
CNBC International
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British technology entrepreneur Mike Lynch has been found dead in the wreckage of his superyacht, which sank off the coast of Sicily earlier this week. He was 59 years old. News of his death emerges just two months after Lynch won a stunning victory in a landmark U.S. trial over fraud allegations from Hewlett Packard, which acquired — and subsequently wrote down the value of — his old company Autonomy.
Who is Mike Lynch?
Lynch is the founder of Autonomy, a British enterprise software firm he started in 1996. In 2011, he sold the business to Hewlett-Packard for $11.7 billion. however, the deal quickly soured after HP alleged Lynch had artificially inflated the value of the company prior to the sale. In June, Lynch was acquitted of fraud charges following a three-month-long trial, during which he took the stand to deny wrongdoing, and told jurors that HP botched Autonomy’s integration.
Lynch’s influence on UK tech
Lynch had a big influence on the growth of the U.K. technology industry. After the sale of Autonomy, he co-founded Invoke Capital, a venture capital firm focused on backing European tech startups, in 2012. He became a key voice supporting British tech startups. Lynch’s firm backed key names in the industry, like cybersecurity firm Darktrace and legal tech firm Luminance.
The world’s first airport to require biometric boarding is set to arrive in 2025
As end-of-summer travel lines back up at various airport checkpoints around the world, one airport is going all in on a biometric passenger experience. The Smart Travel Project at Zayed International Airport in Abu Dhabi will involve biometric sensors at every airport identification checkpoint by 2025.
Benefits of biometric authentication
Airport security and travel experts have generally cheered the move. “They are boldly moving forward in adopting facial recognition as the means to let travelers into their system,” said Sheldon Jacobson, an engineering and computer science professor at the University of Illinois. Going completely paperless from the parking garage to your seat-back tray table is unnerving to some. But Jacobson says that, even if these systems completely shut down because of, say, an outage, the net benefits of a biometric travel experience over time will outweigh the costs.
Addressing privacy concerns
Among the concerns expressed are what type of data someone would need to give during the biometric enrollment process, and whether biometric security processes will be used to track movements throughout the airport, or if biometric data will be used outside the airport. “To make the technology more widespread and allow airports and travelers to take advantage of it, airports should establish clear guidelines and processes and make travelers aware of potential uses,” says Mike Taylor, J.D. Power’s senior managing director of travel, hospitality and retail.
European Union slashes planned tariffs on China-made Tesla EVs, other Chinese firms
The European Union announced that planned tariffs on Tesla vehicles being imported from China would be cut to 9% from 20.8%. These tariffs will come on top of existing duties of 10% the EU has already imposed on imports of battery electric vehicles.
EU probes China EV subsidies
In June, the EU said it would slap higher tariffs on Chinese electric vehicle imports, which it found benefit “heavily from unfair subsidies” and pose a “threat of economic injury” to electric vehicle producers in Europe. It’s now made changes to the tariff rates it intends to impose after input from industry. Tesla isn’t the only firm that saw a reduction in tariffs. BYD, the Warren Buffett-backed EV firm, had its tariff rate cut from 17.4% to 17%; Geely from 19.9% to 19.3%, SAIC from 37.6% to 36.3%.
China responds
The Chinese government said in response that the EU’s decision to move ahead with tariffs was unfair. “China will take all necessary measures to resolutely defend the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese companies,” the Ministry of Commerce spokesperson told reporters, according to a Google translation.
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Project manager
2moHmmm.. nothing shady going on here... huh! So sad