AI Identified the Core of the Unique Invention
Per Gunnar Eriksson had developed new technology for hybrid solar panels. But when the first search report came back from the patent office, it revealed similar existing solutions. With the help of Valigent’s AI technology, he was able to pinpoint what made the invention unique and strengthen the patent application. Today, a new team and company have been formed around the technology.
Valigent was founded in Umeå in 2024 by Rickard and Emma Sjögren together with Alexander Sutherland. The company is developing an AI platform that helps technology companies identify, describe and assess ideas that may be worth protecting.
The idea behind the company stems from a challenge the founders themselves encountered as inventors and technology consultants.
“Engineers in most organisations are focused on their projects and solutions. It is then often up to them to recognise that they may have developed something that should be patented. They also need to be able to explain what is new and unique in a way that can be properly assessed. That is a lot to ask of an engineer at that stage,” says Rickard Sjögren, CEO and co-founder of Valigent.
A Stronger Patent Application
The contact with Per Gunnar Eriksson and Termi came through Uminova Innovation. Per Gunnar had developed new technology for hybrid solar panels and filed a patent application. The initial search report showed that similar technology already existed in the field.
Valigent’s role was to work with Per Gunnar to examine the material in greater depth and develop a clearer basis for the patent attorney to work from.
“Per Gunnar has several decades of experience and knows his field inside out. But he had described the technology from an inventor’s perspective rather than from the perspective of how a patent application needs to be formulated. We needed to identify the unique core of what he had developed,” says Rickard.
“Rickard and Valigent helped us look at the patent application from a new perspective and pinpoint what was truly unique. That gave us a much stronger foundation for taking the work forward,” says Per Gunnar Eriksson.
Using Valigent’s proprietary AI technology, they searched for and compared the solution with previously published technologies. The analysis highlighted an important aspect that had been included in the original material but had not been sufficiently emphasised.
This gave Per Gunnar a stronger basis for the continued patent process. Termi AB has now filed an updated international patent application. The work has also led to the formation of a new team and company around the patent-pending technology.
“I’m proud that we have been able to establish Termi and bring together a team around the technology. Valigent’s support has been important in that process. The next step is to continue developing the company and broaden its ownership,” says Per Gunnar.
Lowering the Barrier for Inventors
Valigent’s platform uses an AI-integrated interview to help users describe their ideas, followed by an automated search and assessment against existing technologies. The inventor is guided through a series of questions that gradually define the technology and identify what may be unique about it. The resulting material can then be passed on to the company’s intellectual property team or a patent attorney.
“We are trying to bridge the gap between the people developing the technology and those working with patents. These are two different areas of expertise that need to come together to ensure that valuable ideas are not lost along the way,” says Rickard.
Valigent primarily works with medium-sized and larger technology companies that conduct their own research and development. In these organisations, hundreds of engineers may be working on new solutions, while responsibility for intellectual property rests with a much smaller team.
“It is difficult to know in advance which ideas will turn out to be the real gems. Today, much depends on inventors taking the initiative themselves and understanding how to describe their ideas. We lower that barrier and make it easier to investigate an idea at an early stage, helping companies identify the most promising opportunities.”
Rickard sees a particularly strong need within cleantech, where technology is developing rapidly and new solutions can play an important role in the energy and climate transition.
“Sweden has a strong position in cleantech. We want to help technology companies identify their most important solutions, protect them more effectively and strengthen their competitiveness,” he says.
Valigent started in Umeå as an incubator company at Uminova Innovation. Over the past six months, the founders have begun working full-time on the company and have raised capital to accelerate its development.
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Caption: Rickard Sjögren, CEO and co-founder of Valigent.