VCs can't get enough of legal startups. Andreessen Horowitz just invested in one taking work from patent lawyers. (www.businessinsider.com)

Legal tech startup Fearn has successfully raised $5.5 million to develop AI software that empowers inventors to draft patents independently, significantly reducing the time and costs traditionally associated with this process. The company’s platform allows users, from solo researchers to corporate R&D teams, to upload technical documents and generate a patent draft in minutes for a flat fee of $2,000. The technology assesses the quality of the input material, produces necessary patent drawings, and cites sources, streamlining what typically takes weeks of painstaking work by patent lawyers. This approach represents a significant shift in the legal tech sector, emphasizing the importance of in-house legal capabilities rather than relying on external counsel. With Fearn, inventors can maintain greater control over the patent process, addressing concerns that their ideas may be misrepresented by attorneys unfamiliar with the technical details. Founded by Han Kim and Angela Gao, who bring personal experience from their time in the legal field and academia, Fearn is entering a competitive landscape that also sees giants like Harvey and emerging tools from OpenAI competing for the same patent drafting market. By fundamentally redefining patent preparation, Fearn is poised to enhance efficiency in an area ripe for disruption.