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Mike Lynch, the wealthy tech founder once hailed as Britain’s answer to Steve Jobs, will testify at his US trial to defend himself against charges he defrauded Hewlett-Packard in the $11 billion sale of his software company Autonomy, his attorney said in court on Monday.

Federal prosecutors in San Francisco have accused Autonomy co-founder Lynch and former finance executive Stephen Chamberlain of scheming to inflate the company’s revenue starting in 2009 and ending with HP’s disastrous acquisition of the company in 2011.

Lynch “spun a fabulous tale,” touting the British tech company’s revenue and “pure software” business model, prosecutor Adam Reeves said in federal court in San Francisco.

“HP ate it up they thought this kind of software company is exactly what they needed,” Reeves said.

Meanwhile, Autonomy was secretly profiting from hardware resales and using improper accounting to meet analyst expectations at Lynch’s direction, Reeves said.

After the deal, HP wrote down the value of the British company by $8.8 billion a year, saying it had uncovered serious accounting improprieties.

Lynch’s attorney Reid Weingarten urged jury to be skeptical, saying that HP was “happy to pay” billions of dollars for Autonomy’s software and rushed the due-dilligence process to shut out potential competitors.

The Cambridge-educated Lynch was focused on technology, and trusted Autonomy’s finances to Sushovan Hussain, Autonomy’s then-chief financial officer, Weingarten said.

“Mike had many sleepless nights worrying about Autonomy, but not about accounting,” Weingarten said.

Prosecutors accuse Lynch and Chamberlain of padding Autonomy’s finances through backdated agreements and “roundtrip” deals that fronted cash to customers through fake contracts. Part of the purpose was to entice buyers like HP, prosecutors said.

At the trial scheduled to run into late May, jurors may hear from dozens of witnesses, including Leo Apotheker, the former HP chief executive who was fired weeks after the Autonomy deal was announced.

Lynch faces 16 counts of fraud and conspiracy. Chamberlain faces 15 counts.

Both men are presumed innocent. The 12-person jury must reach a unanimous verdict to find either of them guilty.

Autonomy’s implosion launched more than a decade of legal battles for Lynch.

HP substantially won a civil lawsuit against him andHussain inLondon in 2022, and it is seeking$4 billion in damages.

Lynch had said HP did not know what it was doing with Autonomy, and was out of its depth in understanding his technology.

Hussain was separately convicted on US charges in 2018. Months later, prosecutors brought charges against Lynch and Chamberlain.

Lynch fought his extradition, but was ultimatelybrought to the USto face the charges after Britain’s High Court refused him permission to appeal last year.

US District Judge Charles Breyer, who is overseeing the trial, granted Lynch bail secured by a $100 million bond, but restricted him to a home in San Francisco under 24 hour guard.

Lynch’s attorney has said in court that his net worth is around $450 million.

Hussain was convicted on 16 counts at a jury trial before Breyer in 2018. He was released from prison in January after serving afive-year sentence.

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Sports

Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

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Braves activate RHP Anderson, sign OF Rosario

It was old faces in familiar places for the Atlanta Braves on Monday after they activated right-hander Ian Anderson to the active roster and signed outfielder Eddie Rosario to a major league contract.

In corresponding moves, outfielder Jarred Kelenic was optioned to Triple-A Gwinnett, while right-hander Davis Daniel was optioned to Triple-A after Sunday’s game.

Both Anderson and Rosario emerged as 2021 postseason heroes in Atlanta as the Braves went on to win the World Series.

Anderson, who was claimed off waivers from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday, went 4-0 with a 1.26 ERA in eight postseason starts for the Braves over the 2020 and 2021 postseasons.

In the 2021 World Series, Anderson famously pitched five no-hit innings in Game 3 to lead Atlanta to a 2-0 victory over the Houston Astros. The Braves defeated the Astros in six games.

Anderson, who turns 27 Friday, was traded by the Braves to the Angels on March 23 for left-hander Jose Suarez. He struggled badly with his new club, going 0-1 with an 11.57 ERA in seven relief appearances. He allowed 17 hits and seven walks in just 9⅓ innings.

Rosario, 33, signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers in February and played in two games with the club, going 1-for-4. He was designated for assignment and became a free agent when Shohei Ohtani returned from the paternity list just over a week ago.

Rosario was the 2021 National League Championship Series MVP, when he powered the Braves past the Dodgers with three home runs, nine RBIs and a 1.647 OPS in six games.

Over parts of 11 seasons, Rosario is a career .261 hitter with 169 home runs and 583 RBIs in 1,123 games with five different clubs, including five seasons with the Minnesota Twins (2015-20) and four with the Braves (2021-24).

Kelenic, 25, was batting .167 with two home runs in 23 games and is a career .211 hitter with 49 home runs and 156 RBIs in 406 games with the Seattle Mariners (2021-23) and Braves.

Daniel, 27, made his only appearance for the Braves on Sunday with a scoreless inning and has appeared in 10 games (six starts) over the past three seasons with a 4.95 ERA.

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Technology

Spotify paid over $100 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

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Spotify paid over 0 million to podcasts in the first quarter, including Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von

Pavlo Gonchar | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Spotify said Monday it paid more than $100 million to podcast publishers and podcasters worldwide in the first quarter of 2025.

The figure includes all creators on the platform across all formats and agreements, including the platform’s biggest fish, Joe Rogan, Alex Cooper and Theo Von, the company said.

Rogan, host of “The Joe Rogan Experience,” Cooper of “Call Her Daddy” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” were among the top podcasts on Spotify globally in 2024.

Rogan and Cooper’s exclusivity deals with Spotify have ended, and while Rogan signed a new Spotify deal last year worth up to $250 million, including revenue sharing and the ability to post on YouTube, Cooper inked a SiriusXM deal in August.

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Even when shows are no longer exclusive to Spotify, they are still uploaded to the platform and qualify for the Spotify Partner Program, which launched in January in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.

The program allows creators to earn revenue every time an ad monetized by Spotify plays in the episode, as well as revenue when Premium subscribers watch dynamic ads on videos.

Competing platform Patreon said it paid out over $472 million to podcasters from over 6.7 million paid memberships in 2024.

YouTube’s payouts are massive by comparison but include more than just podcasts. The company said it paid $70 billion to creators between 2021 and 2024 with payouts rising each year, according to YouTube CEO Neal Mohan.

Spotify reports first-quarter earnings on Tuesday.

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Environment

BYD now has the world’s largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

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BYD now has the world's largest car transport ship and it just set sail overseas

The BYD “Shenzhen” set sail on its first voyage overseas this week. With 9,200 parking spots, or about enough to fill 20 football fields, BYD’s new car transport ship is now the world’s largest.

BYD’s largest car carrier sets sail for Brazil

BYD’s Shenzhen is on its maiden voyage to Brazil after setting sail on April 27. The vessel is carrying over 7,000 new energy vehicles (NEVs), including electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). It’s the largest single batch of NEVs exported from China so far.

The new vessel is BYD’s fourth car transport ship and the world’s largest, capable of carrying 9,000 vehicles. According to the company, that’s enough to fill about 20 football fields.

BYD launched its first car carrier, the Explorer No 1, in January 2024. It has already completed several trips to Germany, Spain, and Brazil.

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Its second, the BYD Changzhou, set sail in December 2024, followed by the Hefei earlier this year. All three vessels can carry up to 7,000 vehicles, making the Shenzhen the largest so far.

BYD's-largest-car-transport-ship
BYD Shenzhen, the world’s largest car transport ship (Source: BYD)

The Shenzhen is named after the automaker’s hometown and demonstrates “BYD’s firm determination to promote sustainable development in Brazil.”

BYD is preparing to launch two more vessels, the Changsha and Xi’an. The Changsha is expected to launch soon, while the Xi’an was introduced on April 2.

The new car carriers will help accelerate BYD’s aggressive overseas expansion. In the first three months of 2025, the company sold over 206,000 NEVs overseas, more than double the number it sold last year.

BYD sells a wide range of vehicles in Brazil, including the low-cost Dolphin Mini, starting at around $20,000 (99,800 BRL). In October, it launched its first hybrid pickup truck, the Shark, starting at 379,800 BTL ($66,900).

Brazil is only one overseas market that BYD is targeting. BYD’s sales are expected to double in Europe in 2025, with significant growth in other key regions like Southeast Asia, Japan, Mexico, and South Korea, to name a few.

Source: BYD

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