AI-Native Patent Firm Fearn Launches to Disrupt the Billable Hour
Fearn has launched an AI-native patent prosecution firm tailored for startups, combining former Big Law patent experts and PhDs with proprietary models designed specifically for patent law. The firm can transform a founder's explanation of an invention into a review-ready patent application in a matter of hours.
A New Approach to Patent Applications
A conventional patent application typically consumes 30 to 40 hours of attorney time and incurs legal fees ranging from $18,000 to $40,000. Startups often face lengthy waits to protect technologies that can evolve rapidly. Fearn, however, offers a fundamentally different model.
The AI-Native Solution
Fearn pairs former Big Law patent experts with an in-house AI (explore this topic) and engineering team. This unique blend enables them to draft and prosecute patents across diverse fields such as software, hardware, robotics, semiconductors, defense, biotech, and pharma. Fearn provides fixed fees and offers provisional filings within just three business days, even guaranteeing a refund if a non-provisional application receives no allowed claims.
Funding and Market Potential
The company has secured $5.5 million in funding from investors including Kindred Ventures, a16z Speedrun, Designer Fund, and Essence VC. Fearn enters a massive global patent market valued at $14 billion, with early-stage companies submitting approximately 150,000 new patent applications annually.
The Founders' Vision
Co-founders Han Kim and Angela Gao, both alumni of Caltech, witnessed the same challenge from opposite perspectives. Kim had experience prosecuting patents at Morrison & Foerster, while Gao earned a PhD in computer science and AI. Initially, they developed software for law firms but realized that better tools alone couldn't solve the inherent issues within the patent system.
So, they built Fearn around this technology from its inception. Today, Fearn boasts hundreds of users, ranging from venture-backed startups to public companies.
"We started Fearn because the technology and economics of patent law are now intertwined," said Han Kim, Co-Founder and CEO of Fearn. "If AI makes the work faster, clients should benefit from that in terms of turnaround time and pricing. That's only achievable if you structure your firm around the technology from day one. Our goal is to provide startups with the quality of a top patent practice while offering speed, affordability, and transparency that the traditional model was never designed to deliver."
How Fearn Works
At the heart of Fearn lies FearnOS, its proprietary drafting and client management system. Unlike treating a patent as a linear document, Fearn represents patents as a graph, mapping claims to supporting text, figures, and technical material. This structure allows Fearn to seamlessly integrate specialized AI with deterministic checks while ensuring a former Big Law patent expert reviews every application.
Fearn claims that work traditionally requiring 30 to 40 attorney hours can now be completed in just 30 minutes on FearnOS. Provisional filings cost $2,500, and non-provisionals, including USPTO fees, start at $9,000 with gross margins exceeding 80%.
Clients can manage their entire patent portfolio through the platform, granting them controlled access to individual patents, a comprehensive version history, and secure connections to existing technical documentation repositories.
Customer Success Stories
Already, Fearn's customers are leveraging its services across industries demanding robust intellectual property protection. In these fields, speed is paramount, and Fearn's approach ensures that valuable IP is secured efficiently.