Co-founder of keyboard app sold his shares for a bicycle, now its worth £174 million

According to media reports, a civil servant sold his stake in a tech firm for a bicycle - only to watch the company grow into a giant worth a whopping £170 million.

The civil servant, Chris Hill-Scott, is said to have taken the bike as payment for his share of Swiftkey - a mobile phone keyboard app - after becoming annoyed with the long work hours and financial insecurity brought by being a director of the company, according to Mirror UK.

In a report by The Times, Hill-Scott reportedly set up the firm in 2008 with university friends Jon Reynolds, 30 and Ben Medlock, 36, but left after a few weeks to embark on a career in photography, before settling in a career building websites for the government.

On Wednesday information emerged that the Cambridge graduates had agreed a deal with Microsoft to sell the London-based firm for £174 million, one of the most lucrative acquisitions of a British technology company in recent times.

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"When SwiftKey was found there were three founding members, Chris was a friend of Jon's from school and Ben was a friend from his university in Cambridge.

"Two months after forming the company Chris decided to leave, Jon and Ben bought his shares," said a SwiftKey spokeswoman, adding that he left on “good terms.”

Mr. Reynolds and Dr. Medlock are said to have made £25 million each in the sale of the app, which is based on a predictive keyboard powered by artificial intelligence, according to the Mirror report.

The Cambridge graduates’ creation has become so successful, it is now used on 300 million devices every day.

SwiftKey records state Mr Hill-Scott's appointment as a director of SwiftKey's parent company, TouchType Ltd, on August 13, 2008, before resigning on October 24 2008.