Prior-art search for investors

When a company's thesis rests on a technical edge, "we're the only ones doing this" needs checking. A prior-art search shows how much of the claimed invention is already public and who else has patented near it - so your diligence rests on evidence, not the founder's word.

What you get

• A novelty read on the core claim. The closest existing patents to the company's key technology, mapped feature-by-feature across roughly 164 million patents from 106 offices.
• A sense of the crowd. How many players have published in the space, and how close they are.
• A shareable verdict. A threat level and evidence you can put in a deal memo.

Where it fits

• Technical diligence - test the "defensible IP" story before investing.
• Portfolio monitoring - watch how the prior-art landscape shifts around a holding.

Frequently asked questions

How do I verify a startup's "defensible IP" claim?

Run a prior-art search on the core invention: it shows the closest existing patents and how much of the claimed technology is already public. A crowded matrix or a novelty-destroying reference is a direct check on the moat story.

How long does IP diligence take with a semantic search?

Minutes for a first read, versus the days a manual search can take - fast enough to run inside a diligence sprint and put evidence in the deal memo.

Does this replace a professional IP opinion?

No. It is a preliminary screen that focuses expensive legal review where it matters. Confirm anything decision-critical with a qualified patent attorney.

It is a preliminary analysis, not a legal opinion - confirm anything decision-critical with a qualified patent attorney.

Diligence an invention now