# Inventr

We help deep tech companies automate the patent process.

## Elevator pitch
We help deep tech companies automate the patent process - from the starting idea all the way to the patent application.

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/inventr
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:55726
- Last updated: 2026-06-16T05:02:22Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-16T18:30:54Z

## Quick facts
- We've gotten 30+ LOIs from companies funded by Y Combinator, DCVC, StartX, Techstars, and more.
- The United States Patent and Trademark Office uses Inventr as part of the Patent Pro Bono Program.
- Recent investors: XX, Daniel Ha (Disqus), Nish (Color Genomics), John W. (Lucira Health)
- Founding team of experts in deep tech, patents, & NLP. Worked in companies such as Google & Amazon.
- A $45B opportunity around IP, and we're starting with the untapped market of early stage deep tech.

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:36279: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## Story
Deep tech companies are tackling incredibly hard problems, from cancer to climate change. But securing patents is slow and expensive.These companies spend years developing their solutions and rely heavily on patents to secure their innovative work and bring value to their company. In fact, patents can hold up to 80% of a deep tech company's value.We talked to lots of early stage deep tech companies, and we learned that they're leaving ideas on the table because it takes too long for them to research whether an idea can be patented or not. Inventr is an automated patent assistant for early stage deep tech companies.Inventr helps early-stage deep tech companies automate the patent process - from the second they come up with ideas all the way to the patent application.How it worksWe help companies document and manage their ideas, automate research around patent protection, and move through the patent process. We take weeks of work and use A.I. to turn it into minutes of automation.Inventr is built to integrate seamlessly into a company’s existing workflow of R&D and communication with patent counsel.TeamThe founding team includes CEO Manu, with experience in deep tech research, building medical devices, life sciences VC, and more. Steven H. was a patent attorney before becoming a software developer. He previously worked at Google and built an Amazon Echo app presented at the official Amazon Echo launch event. Steven T. has been a software developer for 20+ years and built an NLP recommendation system to deliver tailored content to users.We have 30+ LOIs & are being used by the U.S. Patent & Trademark OfficeOur previous product helped 70+ startups through the later stages of the patent process. This new, expanded product streamlines the entire process from ideation to filing.We’ve gotten 30+ LOIs worth nearly $500K ARR (annual recurring revenue) from companies funded by top tier investors such as Y Combinator, DCVC, StartX, Techstars, and more. And we are also being used by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office as part of the Patent Pro Bono Program in St. Louis (covering five Midwest states).Inventr was also recently accepted into Newlab, a deep tech community of 150+ companies building everything from rockets to electric motorcycles.A $45B opportunity We are pursuing a $45B opportunity around IP, and we're starting with early stage deep tech companies.Business model Companies can use Inventr by signing up for a monthly subscription, giving them company wide access to a collaborative process to document and manage ideas.Through partnerships with incubators and accelerators, we can rapidly scale up customer acquisition.What's nextWe're starting with early stage deep tech companies, but there are millions of patents filed every year by companies of all sizes.Long-term, we want to re-invent intellectual property. The patent system is 200+ years old and doesn't reflect the pace of innovation today. We believe that the future holds a new model of innovation - one built on transparency and collaboration.Join us as we change how the world thinks about intellectual property. Together, we can bring the most incredible innovations to life.

## FAQ
1. **This is cool idea, and I like the fact that there are existing revenue streams, and - always important - your runway is projected to be longer than the time projected for getting to profitability. :) Good stuff. One small concern is if your main customers are early stage start...**
   - Hi Francis,Great question! What you've highlighted is certainly a risk, one we agree with and briefly mention in the first risk listed on our profile just below the Financials.Shifting to larger and more established companies is very much in the plans. Currently, our product helps in the workflow between early stage companies and their interactions with outside counsel. Transitioning to larger companies will include a similar product and workflow, but between internal R&D and in-house cou...
2. **Can you talk about the differences between the needs of start-up R&D and large enterprise R&D? You mention and list several SaaS competitors in the large enterprise R&D space. How does your company's service differ to better benefit the start-up companies needs and...**
   - Hi Jason, Sure! One major difference is that large companies typically have in-house patent counsel, i.e. a dedicated team of attorneys employed by the company. Earlier stage companies typically have outside counsel, which are attorneys employed by a law firm who the companies reach out to as needed. Given this, these companies will perform 80-90% of the work around patents internally before reaching out to the outside attorney, and this is the work we're focused on automating. We've spent a ...
3. **Hi, Is there a repurchase clause when I invest with Inventr?**
   - Hi Calvin, No, there is not.
4. **Ai in combination with a human backoffice has occasionally been an empty promise (AI + attorneys may end up favoring the attorneys). How are you avoiding the fate of startups like ScaleFactor and simply white labeling legacy services?**
   - Hi Scott, Thanks for asking. There are two points I want to address: 1) We’re not replacing service providers, such as attorneys, with our A.I. but we’re replacing the internal work that companies are already doing in order to save on legal fees. 2) We chose A.I., more specifically, NLP (natural language processing), not because we wanted to find a way to use a trendy approach, but because it is the right solution for this problem. Patent language is often difficult to understand and can be w...
5. **What are your LOI’s dependent on to move forward? Obviously each may have certain nuances, but is there a theme among the majority?**
   - Hi Kyle, We’ve already started working closely with a small subset of the LOIs. We’ve learned that the benefits are becoming clear to these users, and the UI/workflow is being tweaked based on feedback. We don’t see a theme among the majority aside from the need to see or use the product in action as part of the customer decision making process.

## Team
- Manu Stephen (Co-founder & CEO)
- Steven H (Co-founder and Head of Frontend)
- Steven Trojanowski (Co-founder and Head of Backend/ML)

## Q&A
- Q: What are your revenue goals for the next 5 years?
  - A: Hi Leonardo, Our focus is to establish our initial market with early stage deep tech companies and begin expanding to larger enterprises. We believe that the time frame for this is within 5 years. With this focus, we aim to achieve $100M ARR by year 5.
- Q: Awesome start-up company
- Q: Will Inventr have another Crowdfunding campaign round again in the future?????
- Q: Will Inventr have another Crowdfunding campaign round again in the future??
- Q: Wowsers
- Q: This start-up company is a game changer indeed
- Q: Happy New Year Manu! How are you and how is Inventr progressing? Will you be sharing an investor update soon? Looks forward to hearing back from you soon. Sincerely, Baljit
- Q: Just wondering if there are any updates?
- Q: Hi Manu, Any updates you can share on Stage Zero?
- Q: Any updates?
- Q: Noticed that your cofounder is listed on Linkedin as #opentowork. How is business going? What's the story with him leaving?
- Q: Any new updates
- Q: Do you intend to pay a dividend (post-SAFE conversion)?
- Q: Does your software itself have any patent?
- Q: Are you raising outside of Wefunder as well? What is your runway?
  - A: Hi John, We will be raising outside of Wefunder in 2021. For now, we will be closing our campaign in the next couple of weeks. Happy to share more specific financial details regarding runway, the next round, etc. if you'd like to reach out (manu@inventr.co).