Black Hills AI
Black Hills AI provides AI-powered IP tools — including the Otto IP™ consistency engine and Evidence of Use Scans — to intellectual property law firms and corporate IP departments for patent drafting, review, portfolio analysis, and renewal decision-making.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersMinneapolis, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Black Hills AI does
Black Hills AI is a Minneapolis-based, private B2B software company that builds AI-powered solutions for intellectual property professionals, with a core focus on patent prosecution, drafting, review, and portfolio management workflows. The company's flagship product, Otto IP™, is engineered to mitigate the inherent output variability of large language models, providing patent attorneys and IP professionals with more consistent, precision-grade results across patent drafting, IDS reference review, and analysis tasks. The platform is complemented by Evidence of Use (EoU) Scans, an AI-powered add-on co-developed with Black Hills Renewals that automates patent-market mapping to inform renewal decisions and portfolio strategy.
The company's technology stack leverages generative AI and natural language processing operating on text-based patent corpora, with the core technical differentiator being its application-layer consistency methodology rather than a proprietary foundation model. Distribution is enterprise-direct to IP law firms and corporate IP departments, supported by a content-marketing and earned-media presence in IP and legal-tech publications and by strategic channel partnerships with IP-ecosystem players including DeepIP and Black Hills Renewals.
Black Hills AI operates a subscription-based revenue model with quote-based enterprise pricing that is not publicly disclosed. Its primary customer segment is intellectual property law firms and patent professionals, with corporate IP departments as a secondary segment. Named enterprise customers include Schwegman, Lundberg & Woessner (SLW), engaged through the DeepIP partnership ecosystem. The company was founded in 2011 and employs 51-100 people; no funding rounds, revenue figures, or ownership details are publicly disclosed.
Black Hills AI firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Black Hills AI
- Website
- https://blackhills.ai
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Black Hills AI provides AI-powered IP tools — including the Otto IP™ consistency engine and Evidence of Use Scans — to intellectual property law firms and corporate IP departments for patent drafting, review, portfolio analysis, and renewal decision-making.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Black Hills AI industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Intellectual Property Management Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- IP Management, Patents & Trademark Software (BPAEAPAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- LLM/GenAI Guardrails & Safety Controls (policy, filtering, routing) (HDAAAKAD), AI Observability, Monitoring & Evaluation Platforms (Drift, Quality, Safety) (HDAEANAF)
Keywords
Where Black Hills AI is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minneapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Markets served
Black Hills AI business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- AI IP Solutions Subscription: AI software solutions for IP professionals delivered as recurring subscription services, likely tiered by features or usage volume.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels2 records
Black Hills AI product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Black Hills AI builds and sells AI-powered intellectual property software for patent professionals. Its core product, Otto IP™, applies large language models with engineered consistency to patent drafting, review, IDS reference review, and portfolio management workflows. The company also offers Evidence of Use (EoU) Scans, a jointly developed AI feature that automates patent-market mapping and renewal decision intelligence.
Product overview
Black Hills AI offers a suite of AI-powered intellectual property solutions centered on the Otto IP™ platform. Otto IP™ is the core product addressing AI consistency challenges for IP professionals. The portfolio includes Evidence of Use (EoU) Scans, an AI-powered feature developed in partnership with Black Hills Renewals that automates patent-market mapping for portfolio analysis and renewal decisions. These products work together to support patent prosecution, portfolio management, and IP automation.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Otto IP™
- Evidence of Use (EoU) Scans
Companies that use Black Hills AI
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Black Hills AI technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature2 records
Black Hills AI partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- Black Hills RenewalsflagshipJoint launch of Evidence of Use (EoU) Scans, an AI-powered feature for patent portfolio analysis and renewal decision-making. This partnership combines Black Hills AI's market intelligence technology with Black Hills Renewals' domain expertise in IP renewal management.
- DeepIPcoreStrategic partnership between Black Hills AI and DeepIP to enhance AI-powered patent drafting and IP automation capabilities. DeepIP secured USD 15 million in Series A funding in March 2025, indicating mutual positioning in the AI patent technology ecosystem.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Black Hills AI competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Anaqua: Established IP management and analytics software platform serving corporate IP departments and law firms with portfolio management, docketing, and renewal tools — directly overlapping with Black Hills AI's portfolio and renewal use cases.
- Harvey AI: Horizontal generative AI platform for legal professionals serving elite law firms; competes for the same IP law firm wallet with broader workflow coverage and significant venture backing.
- CPA Global (Clarivate): Large incumbent IP management and intelligence platform under Clarivate offering patent prosecution, renewals, and portfolio analytics; competes for the same corporate IP and law firm budgets as Black Hills AI.
- Thomson Reuters CoCounsel: Enterprise legal AI suite from a major legal information incumbent, offering research, drafting, and review tools across practice areas including IP; a potential horizontal threat to Black Hills AI's IP-specific positioning.
- LexisNexis AI (Lexis+ AI): Legal research and AI tools from a long-standing legal data incumbent; offers patent search and AI-assisted drafting capabilities that overlap with Black Hills AI's IP professional use cases.
Emerging players
- Patsnap: AI-driven patent intelligence and analytics platform offering prior-art search, landscape analysis, and EoU-style features; competes with Black Hills AI's Evidence of Use Scans and broader IP market intelligence capabilities.
- Relecura: AI-powered patent analytics platform providing patent valuation, landscape, and competitive intelligence — overlapping with Black Hills AI's market intelligence and portfolio analytics use cases for IP professionals.
Direct peers
- DeepIP: AI-powered patent drafting and IP automation platform; holds a core strategic partnership with Black Hills AI and serves the same IP law firm buyers, making it the closest comparable in workflow and customer base.
- Black Hills Renewals: IP renewal and portfolio management firm that co-developed Evidence of Use Scans with Black Hills AI; shares the Black Hills brand and serves the same IP professional buyer with adjacent portfolio workflows.
Regional players
- Evalueserve / IPlytics: Patent analytics and IP intelligence platform with strong European footprint; provides patent landscape and market intelligence comparable to Black Hills AI's EoU and portfolio analytics offerings.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Black Hills AI social profiles
Digital presenceBlack Hills AI financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Black Hills AI leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Black Hills AI funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Black Hills AI M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Black Hills AI
What does Black Hills AI do?
Black Hills AI builds and sells AI-powered intellectual property software for patent professionals. Its core product, Otto IP™, applies large language models with engineered consistency to patent drafting, review, IDS reference review, and portfolio management workflows. The company also offers Evidence of Use (EoU) Scans, a jointly developed AI feature that automates patent-market mapping and renewal decision intelligence.
Is Black Hills AI a public or private company?
Black Hills AI is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Black Hills AI founded?
Black Hills AI was founded in 2011. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Black Hills AI based?
Black Hills AI is headquartered in Minneapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Black Hills AI make money?
One revenue line is on record: AI IP Solutions Subscription.
Who are Black Hills AI's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Anaqua, Harvey AI, CPA Global (Clarivate), Thomson Reuters CoCounsel and LexisNexis AI (Lexis+ AI). Emerging players are Patsnap and Relecura. Direct peers are DeepIP and Black Hills Renewals. Evalueserve / IPlytics is listed as a regional player.
Does Black Hills AI have an API?
No public API is recorded for Black Hills AI.
What industry is Black Hills AI in?
Black Hills AI's product category is Intellectual Property Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAEAPAN, IP Management, Patents & Trademark Software, with a secondary code of HDAAAKAD, LLM/GenAI Guardrails & Safety Controls (policy, filtering, routing). Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7371.