🧑‍⚖️ SF Jury and Mike Lynch

Today’s newsletter is 403 words - a 2-minute read (4-minute if you take your time…🐌)

Welcome back everyone!

Excited to have you join us: We’re Chris & Nolan (@chrisnolansf), and welcome to SF Whisper - a newsletter covering the most interesting business and local news of San Francisco.

As always: if you were forwarded this email or are new to the Whisperers community, click here to subscribe. Got a news tip or an idea for us? Just reply to this email 🙂 

Anyways. Let’s get started -

SF jury cleared Mike Lynch 

Verdict Shock

In a dramatic turn of events, Mike Lynch, once a prominent UK tech entrepreneur, was found not guilty on all counts in his federal fraud trial in San Francisco. The ex-Autonomy CEO faced allegations of orchestrating Silicon Valley's biggest fraud. This marks a significant victory after years of legal battles and a year under house arrest in San Francisco.

Legal Battles

The charges stemmed from Autonomy's $11 billion sale to Hewlett-Packard in 2011. Prosecutors accused Lynch of inflating the company's revenues, causing HP to overpay by $5 billion. Despite HP winning a civil fraud case in the UK, Lynch's confident and sometimes humorous testimony helped sway the jury.

Mixed Reactions

While the verdict is a blow to US prosecutors, Lynch can finally look forward to resuming his life. However, he still faces a civil lawsuit seeking $4 billion in damages, leaving some challenges ahead.

FTC Lina Khan strikes again, this time at Microsoft

Microsoft under Microscope

The FTC is investigating whether Microsoft strategically structured its $650 million licensing deal with Inflection AI to sidestep antitrust scrutiny. Microsoft hired Inflection AI’s co-founder and nearly all its employees, raising questions about the nature of their partnership.

Regulatory Concerns

The FTC’s inquiry seeks to determine if Microsoft’s deal avoided necessary government reviews that apply to acquisitions over $119 million. The FTC is concerned that tech giants might monopolize promising AI technologies, restricting competition.

Subpoenas in Action

Subpoenas sent to Microsoft and Inflection AI demand documents from the past two years. The agency is probing if Microsoft gained control of Inflection AI’s assets while dodging regulatory oversight.

Catch up on the latest:

• SF expected to see increase in covid-19 and mpox over summer (Link)

• The current, most expensive home listing in SF for $38M (Link)

Today’s whisper:

^{Sea lions are in full at Pier 39 in San Francisco. Go check them out!}