Security News > 2021 > April > Mike Lynch-backed Darktrace to file for London IPO in aftermath of Deliveroo flop

British AI-powered infosec biz Darktrace is to go public in England's capital city, the company told the London Stock Exchange this morning.

"The majority of senior management has been with Darktrace since inception, including its Chief Executive Officer, Poppy Gustafsson OBE" boasted the filing as it quoted the chief exec saying: "Developed by our talented software engineering teams in Cambridge, our artificial intelligence was the first on the market to be deployed at-scale in the enterprise, and today is responsible for protecting over 4,700 organizations worldwide from the most sophisticated cyber-threats."

The statement made no mention at all of the fact that Darktrace was heavily backed by Mike Lynch, former chief exec of Cambridge-headquartered software business Autonomy; indeed, Gustafsson was Lynch's colleague at the controversial firm before she and fellow Autonomy alumnus Nicole Eagan founded Darktrace.

The US also accused Lynch of paying "Hush money" to ex-Autonomy personnel by hiring them to work at Darktrace and his venture fund Invoke Capital.

The IPO is promoted by Darktrace's admirers as the next biggest thing since food delivery firm Deliveroo went public back in late March.

Aside from Lynch's backing, Darktrace also counts former Home Secretary Amber Rudd as one of its advisory board members.

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https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2021/04/12/darktrace_ipo_confirmed/