Cipher

What Cipher does

Cipher, founded in 2013 in London, developed an AI-powered patent intelligence platform that uses machine learning to read and classify the full global patent corpus — covering 44M+ active patents and 200,000 data points per patent at a throughput of more than 60M patents per hour. The core product enables organizations to define custom technology taxonomies, train classifiers using their own patent training sets, and automatically surface relevant patents without manual tagging or Boolean queries. Outputs are surfaced through LexisNexis PatentSight+ and adjacent modules including the Protégé AI assistant, IPlytics for SEP and standards analysis, Custom Taxonomy services, and IP DataDirect APIs.

The platform serves five primary segments — corporations (notably Red Hat and ARM), law firms, investors, government, and academia — addressing use cases spanning competitive intelligence, portfolio optimization, technology scouting, M&A due diligence, licensing, and policy research. Cipher was acquired by LexisNexis via its acquisition of aistemos and is now operated as LexisNexis Classification, embedded in the LexisNexis IP Solutions portfolio.

The business runs on an enterprise subscription model with quote-based annual pricing, sold through a consultative direct sales motion supported by dedicated Customer Success Managers. Named customer outcomes include ARM reducing patent filing expenses by nearly half over a ten-year period. GTM is multi-channel, combining webinars, the Classification Vision podcast, research reports, industry events, and bottom-of-funnel demo requests. Post-acquisition distribution leverage through LexisNexis's global enterprise sales force extends the product's reach into multinational corporates and government buyers across English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean markets.

Name

Cipher

Legal name

Cipher

Website

https://cipher.ai

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cipher (now LexisNexis Classification) provides AI-powered patent classification and IP analytics for corporations, law firms, investors, government, and academia, using machine learning to process 44M+ global patents against custom technology taxonomies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. IP Analytics Software Subscriptions: Annual subscription access to PatentSight+ and LexisNexis Classification platforms, providing patent intelligence, competitive benchmarking, portfolio optimization, and technology scouting capabilities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cipher provides an AI-powered patent classification platform that uses machine learning to automatically read, analyze, and categorize 44M+ global patents into custom technology taxonomies defined by users. The platform integrates with PatentSight+ to deliver patent intelligence, competitive benchmarking, portfolio optimization, technology scouting, and SEP/standards analysis for corporations, law firms, investors, government agencies, and academic institutions. The technology processes 60M+ patents per hour and has been deployed to build 9,000+ classifiers for patent-owning organizations.

Product overview

LexisNexis Classification (formerly Cipher Classification) is a unified patent intelligence platform that combines AI-powered classification technology with comprehensive analytics tools. The core offering consists of the Classification platform (using machine learning to automatically categorize 44M+ patents), integrated with PatentSight+ for broader IP analytics. Additional modules include Protégé (AI assistant), IPlytics (SEPs/standards analysis), Custom Taxonomy (bespoke classification building), Classification Certified (training), and IP DataDirect (bulk data/API access). The platform enables organizations to build custom technology classifiers, benchmark portfolios against competitors, and make evidence-based IP strategy decisions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• LexisNexis Classification (formerly Cipher Classification)

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced patent filing expenses by nearly 50% over 10 years through systematic portfolio management
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MintelcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 September 2024Mintel partnered with Cipher to conduct market research on ingestible beauty ingredients. The partnership revealed that 84% of US functional drink consumers purchase beauty-enhancing products weekly, and 53% of US facial skincare users prioritize anti-ageing benefits. South Korea leads global patent activity for beauty-boosting food, drink, and supplement patents at 47%.
• aistemoscoreOthersLexisNexis acquired aistemos and its Cipher Classification technology platform. The acquisition was described as a definitive agreement to enhance PatentSight, LexisNexis flagship IP analytics solution.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Questel (Orbit Intelligence): Questel's Orbit Intelligence provides patent search, analytics, classification, and portfolio management tools to IP professionals worldwide — overlapping directly with Cipher's classification and competitive-intelligence workflows.
• Anaqua: Anaqua provides IP management, analytics, and portfolio workflow software to corporations and law firms — overlapping with Cipher's portfolio-optimization and benchmarking value propositions, though focused more on docketing and annuity management.
• Clarivate (Derwent & PatentSight): Clarivate operates PatentSight (a direct comparable to Cipher's analytics platform) alongside Derwent World Patents Index, covering the same patent-analytics and benchmarking use cases as Cipher but as part of a much broader IP and scientific information portfolio.

Direct peers

• Relecura: Relecura provides AI-driven patent analytics for portfolio valuation, technology landscaping, and competitive intelligence — a focused direct competitor serving similar enterprise IP teams as Cipher.
• Minesoft: Minesoft delivers patent intelligence, search, and monitoring solutions (Pat-Keeper, PatentPulse) to corporations, law firms, and patent attorneys — competing in the same patent-classification and analytics category as Cipher.
• PatSnap: PatSnap offers an AI-powered patent and innovation intelligence platform with competitive landscaping, technology scouting, and portfolio analytics — directly comparable to Cipher's Classification + PatentSight+ offering and serving the same enterprise and R&D buyer.

Emerging players

• Lens.org: The Lens is a free/open patent and scholarly knowledge platform offering patent search, analytics, and biological sequence data — an adjacent alternative that competes for the same IP-research workflows but with an open-data model.

Regional players

• Yardi Patent Brokerage / Ocean Tomo: Ocean Tomo (now part of J.S. Held) offers IP valuation, patent brokerage, and analytics advisory — comparable to Cipher's monetization and portfolio-intelligence use cases, primarily serving North American enterprises and law firms.

Others

• Google Patents: Google Patents provides free global patent search and a basic machine-translated prior-art view — a broad, non-specialized competitor that defines user expectations for patent search UX but lacks Cipher's enterprise analytics depth.
• Innography (LexisNexis legacy product): Now part of the same LexisNexis IP family as Cipher, Innography historically offered patent analytics and competitive intelligence — illustrating how Cipher's capabilities complement and partially overlap with legacy LexisNexis patent tools.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cipher_ai
• Facebookfacebook.com/cipherai
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cipher-strategicpatentintelligence

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cipher