Two French entrepreneurs, Tamar Gomez and Wiem Gharbi, former Palantir employees, have just launched Ankar, a London-based startup that aims to revolutionize intellectual property management through artificial intelligence. A closer look at a remarkable fundraising round and an innovation that could transform patent filing in the most innovative sectors.
The challenge: the burden of patent filing
In large technology and industrial companies, protecting innovation still relies on a long and tedious process. Each invention must be described in a technical memo of about thirty pages, drafted by the researcher, then reviewed and validated by specialized lawyers. This journey, often time-consuming, can discourage inventors and slow down innovation valorization.
Tamar Gomez and Wiem Gharbi, facing this reality while working at Palantir, decided to tackle this systemic problem. Their objective: enable researchers to focus on research, while streamlining and securing each stage of the patent filing process.
Ankar: AI at the heart of the process
Ankar develops an artificial intelligence-based platform that automates and accelerates all key stages of patent filing:
- Automatic generation of the technical memo from elements provided by inventors.
- Analysis of existing patents to ensure that no prior patent already covers the invention.
- Reformulation of critical points to guarantee originality and patentability.
- Assistance with final drafting for lawyers.
- Continuous monitoring to detect potential violations or duplicates after filing.
Ankar’s technology relies on advanced language models capable of analyzing invention disclosures, detecting prior art, automatically generating patent claims, and identifying potential conflicts with other patents (Frenchweb).
A strategic fundraising round and heavyweight backers
To accelerate its development, Ankar has just raised 3 million pounds sterling (approximately 3.6 million euros) from prestigious funds such as Index Ventures, Daphni, Motier Ventures, as well as German micro-funds Booom and Puzzle Ventures. Renowned business angels, including Olivier Pomel (CEO of Datadog) and Julien Chaumond (Chief Technology Officer of Hugging Face), also participated in the round (Vestbee).
This fundraising will allow the startup to strengthen its technical and commercial teams, accelerate the development of its platform, and respond to growing demand from companies, particularly among Fortune 500 giants, like Valeo which is already using the tool.
Franco-European DNA and international ambition
Although based in London, Ankar claims Franco-European technological DNA, with strong involvement of French funds and a global vision of the intellectual property market. Tamar Gomez and Wiem Gharbi highlight their experience at Palantir, where they learned to solve complex problems in sectors such as healthcare and aeronautics, and to place the user at the center of innovation.
« We accelerate the process. The researcher remains more empowered in the process while teams handle more inventions and file better patents. » – Tamar Gomez
Major legal and technological challenges
The rise of AI in intellectual property raises new legal challenges, particularly regarding the recognition of human originality and securing rights over creations generated or assisted by algorithms. In France and Europe, only works where human intervention is proven can benefit from full legal protection, which pushes startups like Ankar to integrate humans at the heart of their innovation process (BigMedia Bpifrance).
Toward a new era of protected innovation
Ankar is part of a broader trend: intelligent automation of complex processes to free up time, accelerate innovation valorization, and strengthen company competitiveness. With its approach, the startup could well become a key player in intellectual property in the age of AI.