The Munich-based company Osram is participating through its venture capital unit Fluxunit to GoodIP. Details about the investment volume were not disclosed.
GoodIP develops a patent recommendation platform. Patent holders promote their intellectual property — in English Iintellectual Property, or IP for short, and the community evaluates the patents. Interested parties can find out about available patents on the Munich startup's platform and submit offers for purchase or licensing. In the event of a sale, a portion of the proceeds goes to charitable projects. Bastian July, Founder and CEO of GoodIP, says:
"Many companies, universities, and research institutes invest millions of euros to build large patent portfolios. However, they rarely succeed in exploiting them. We help by building a community that is passionate about innovation and enjoys talking about it."
GoodIP aims to connect patent holders with crowd experts and buyers
July himself has traded patents for Osram and semiconductor manufacturer Lantiq in the past. Fluxunit CEO Ulrich Eisele says about the investment:
"There are recommendation platforms for hotels, lawyers, and even software. Patents are the backbone of technological progress. We are confident that GoodIP can bring together patent holders, crowdsourced experts, and buyers in future technologies such as robotics, autonomous driving, green technologies, sensors, and vertical farming."
The Osram subsidiary was founded in 2016 to acquire minority stakes in innovative early-stage startups. The lighting and electronics group is already involved in Munich-based greenhouse startup Agrilution involved.
