tech
A patent writer quit his Big Law job to start the TurboTax for patents
San Francisco startup Fearn wants to help companies and inventors do more patent work before they ever call a lawyer.
TL;DR
- Fearn is developing AI software to allow inventors to draft patent applications themselves.
- The startup has secured $5.5 million in seed funding from investors including Andreessen Horowitz and Kindred Ventures.
- The software promises to reduce patent drafting time from weeks to minutes for a flat fee of $2,000 per draft.
- Fearn's cofounder, Han Kim, previously worked as a patent prosecutor and identified patent drafting as a prime candidate for automation.
- The company aims to help companies bring more legal work in-house, diverging from the trend of AI assisting law firms.
- Fearn's software offers features like quality scoring, drawing creation, and source citation.
- The company is already seeing adoption across robotics, pharma, energy, and gaming sectors.
- Fearn competes with other patent startups and general-purpose AI chatbots entering the legal tech space.