If you are building an AI or robotics startup, you are likely moving fast. You ship code, test models, tune sensors, and run pilots. In the middle of all that, patents can feel like “later.” But for deep tech, “later” often turns into “too late.” A provisional patent is the simplest first step to protect […]
The Provisional Patent Checklist for AI and Robotics Startups Read More »
AI startups move fast. Your patent plan has to move fast too. If you build in AI, you already know this pain: your model changes, your data changes, your product shifts, and your “real” invention becomes clear only after you ship and learn. But patents do not work like product sprints. A patent filing freezes
Continuations for AI Patents: How Startups Expand Coverage Read More »
Most AI founders do not lose time because their tech is weak. They lose time because their patent gets blocked by two words: “abstract idea.” It feels unfair. You built something real. It runs. It saves money. It makes decisions faster. Yet the patent office may say: “This is just math” or “This is just
Patentability for AI: How to Avoid “Abstract Idea” Rejections Read More »
If you are building a robot, a drone, an AGV, a warehouse picker, a delivery bot, or any system that moves on its own, you are building two things at once. First, you are building a product. Second, you are building a set of decisions that the machine makes every second: what it thinks the
Patenting SLAM and Navigation: What Startups Can Protect Read More »
Most computer vision founders wait too long to think about patents. Not because they do not care. But because vision work feels “too math-y” or “too model-y” to patent. Or they assume it will never hold up once a patent examiner asks hard questions. Or they think: “We will do patents after we get traction.”
Patenting Computer Vision: Claims That Actually Hold Up Read More »
Reinforcement learning can feel like magic. An agent takes actions, gets rewards, and slowly learns how to win—sometimes in ways even the builders did not expect. If you are building robots, AI systems, or real-world control software, reinforcement learning can become the core of your product. And when it becomes core, one question shows up
Patenting Reinforcement Learning: What’s Protectable and What’s Not Read More »
Robotics is moving fast. If you are building a robot, your real “product” is often not the metal. It is the software that makes the robot see, think, plan, and move. That software is also the easiest thing for a bigger team to copy once they understand how you did it. That is why patents
How to Patent Robotics Software and Control Systems Read More »
If you build autonomous systems, you are not “just shipping code.” You are teaching a machine how to act in the real world. That means safety, planning, and decision logic are not side details. They are the product. And here is the part most founders miss: these are also the parts you can often protect
Patenting Autonomous Systems: Safety, Planning, and Decision Logic Read More »
Human-robot interaction is where robotics gets real. It is the moment your robot meets a person and must act in a way that feels safe, clear, and helpful. It might be a robot arm that slows down when a hand gets close. A delivery robot that asks you to confirm a drop-off with a simple
How to Patent Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) Features Read More »
Hiring a great team is hard. Hiring a great team across countries is even harder. When your engineers are in Bengaluru, your designer is in Warsaw, your sales lead is in Austin, and your first product manager is in Singapore, you are not just running a startup. You are also running a mini legal and
Employee Stock Options for Global Teams Read More »
Tran.vc invests $50,000 at the pre-seed stage to empower AI, software, and robotics startups. We help technical founders build strong IP moats, raise seed funding, and grow without relying on endless capital. Focused on speed, innovation, and ownership, we back the builders shaping the future with AI.
