Autonomy founder Mike Lynch says his $1 billion startup fund has backed close to 10 companies

LONDON - Mike Lynch, the founder of a software firm that was acquired by HP for over $11 billion (£8.7 billion), said that his $1 billion (£800 million) venture capital fund has now invested in close to 10 startups, including the likes of UK cybersecurity firm Darktrace, which is now valued at $500 million (£394 million).

Speaking at TechCrunch Disrupt in London on Monday, Lynch said that he is keen to get behind the most innovative businesses focusing on areas such as machine learning, mixed reality, and genetics. But that's not all.

"We've got one [startup] which is using AI to replace some of the menial tasks of law firms," said Lynch, referencing his investment in Luminance.

Lynch added that Invoke - where the partners are all ex-Autonomy - is looking for "bright ideas and bright people." He also revealed that there are around 60 former Autonomy employees working across the startups in Invoke's portfolio, which can be found across Europe.

Lynch also spoke briefly about the ongoing $5 billion (£4 billion) accounting fraud law suit between himself and HP.

HP acquired Autonomy for $11 billion (£8.7 billion) only to write off three-quarters of the company's value (around $9 million; £7 billion) after finding what it claimed were accounting irregularities at the hands of the former management team. Lynch has strongly denied the claims.

"It was a sad thing that happened in the end," said Lynch. "That [Autonomy] was a business I started back in 1996," he added.