Patlytics, a San Francisco-based startup, is on a mission to transform the patent workflow for enterprises, IP professionals, and law firms, by leveraging AI to offer a more efficient and strategic approach to patent intelligence. The company recently announced a $4.5 million seed funding round, that was oversubscribed and closed in a matter of days.
The round was led by Gradient Ventures, Google's AI-focused venture capital arm, with participation from an impressive array of investors including 8VC, Liquid 2 Ventures, Tribe Capital, Vermilion Ventures, Gaingels, Alumni Ventures, and Position Ventures. Prominent angel investors, including premier law firm partners and Datadog President Amit Agarwal, also backed the round.
Co-founded by Paul Lee and Arthur Jen, Patlytics was born out of a shared observation of the complexities and inefficiencies in the patent process. Lee, a former venture capitalist, and Jen, a serial entrepreneur, combined their experiences to develop an AI-powered platform that streamlines patent workflows. Their shared vision and complementary skills, coupled with firsthand experience of the challenges in the IP space, drove them to create Patlytics.
Traditional patent workflows, from prosecution to litigation, rely heavily on manual input, making them time-consuming and complex. Patlytics aims to automate key aspects of these workflows, enabling professionals to focus on strategy and high-level tasks. The platform offers end drafts, extensive chart solutions, and incorporates human participation alongside its AI-powered insights and analytics.
Darian Shirazi, General Partner at Gradient Ventures, emphasized the critical role of IP protection: "As companies incorporate AI into their new products, companies from the automobile to the pharmaceutical industry are keen to protect new inventions and watch for infringement from competitors. We're excited to partner with the team at Patlytics as they leverage the recent transformative innovations in AI to reinvent the intellectual property protection industry."
Patlytics, now SOC-2 certified, already serves top-tier law firms and in-house legal counsels at enterprises. The startup plans to use the funding to invest in product development, bolster its engineering team, and expand its market reach. The goal is to cover all relevant workflows for patent prosecution and litigation.