AIRI

What AIRI does

AIRI Co., Ltd. (株式会社AIRI), founded in 2006 and headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, is a Japan Patent Office-registered search organization and intellectual property services firm. Its core function is conducting prior art literature searches on behalf of the Japan Patent Office to support examiners evaluating the novelty and inventive step of patent applications; in FY2024 AIRI executed 21,437 such commissions, capturing 17%+ market share — the #1 position among private-sector registered search organizations in Japan. The company is staffed by approximately 403 personnel (as of July 2025), including ~350 nationally certified patent search investigators and 25+ former JPO examiners, deployed across seven Japanese offices (Tokyo HQ, Meguro, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, and Tsukuba). For civilian clients, AIRI provides prior art research, infringement prevention (FTO/clearance) surveys, invalidation material searches (including an English-language offering for foreign clients), technology and market trend surveys, and IP business outsourcing; in FY2024 these services reached ~1,169 private companies, 55 universities and research institutions, and 17 patent law firms. Revenue derives almost entirely from customized, project-based professional services fees — no public pricing or subscription tiers are published — with the JPO government-contract stream functioning as the foundational anchor and civilian consulting as a higher-margin extension. In March 2026 AIRI extended its technology surface with AI²PS, a proprietary generative AI tool for patent examination support that received dual NEDO GENIAC-PRIZE recognition; the tool augments rather than replaces the firm's human-investigator core, and AIRI has no disclosed external investors, subsidiaries, or parent company, operating as a founder/management-controlled private corporation.

Name

AIRI

Legal name

株式会社AIRI

Website

https://airi-ip.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Short description

AIRI is a Japan Patent Office-registered search organization that conducts prior art searches and IP consulting for the JPO, manufacturers, patent law firms, and universities, leveraging ~350 certified investigators and 25+ former JPO examiners across seven Japanese offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Patent Office (JPO) Prior Art Literature Search: AIRI is a registered search organization for the Japan Patent Office, receiving direct commissions to conduct prior art literature searches that support examiners in evaluating novelty and inventive step of patent applications. This is a government contract revenue stream and the company's foundational business.
2. Patent & Technology Search Services (Civilian): Prior art searches, invalidation material searches, and infringement prevention (FTO/clearance) searches for private companies, patent law firms, universities, and public research institutions. Customized per engagement with project-based pricing.
3. Consulting Services: Technology and market trend surveys, IP outsourcing, patent portfolio analysis, and IP strategy consulting for corporate and institutional clients. Services are customized per client need.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

AIRI is a Japan Patent Office registered search organization that conducts prior art literature searches supporting patent examiners in evaluating novelty and inventive step. For private-sector clients, AIRI delivers patent and technology search services including prior art research, infringement prevention (FTO/clearance) searches, and invalidation material searches, alongside IP consulting such as technology and market trend surveys and IP business outsourcing. The company also developed AI²PS, a proprietary generative AI tool for patent examination efficiency.

Product overview

AIRI offers a comprehensive suite of intellectual property services centered on its role as a Japan Patent Office registered search organization. The core offering is prior art literature search services conducted for the Patent Office. For private clients, AIRI provides patent and technology survey services including Prior Art Research, Infringement Prevention Survey (FTO), and Invalidation Material Search. The consulting division offers Technology and Market Trend Surveys and IP Business Outsourcing. AIRI also developed a proprietary generative AI tool called AI²PS to support patent examination efficiency, which won recognition at NEDO's GENIAC-PRIZE program. Together, these services form an integrated intellectual property business serving corporations, universities, and public research institutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Prior Art Literature Search for Japan Patent Office (先行技術文献調査) Commissioned prior art literature searches conducted for the Japan Patent Office to support patent examiners in evaluating the novelty and inventive step of patent applications across all technical fields. AIRI holds the #1 market share among private companies (17%+) in this category, with 21,437 cases handled in fiscal year 2024.
• Prior Art Research (先行技術調査) Service for private-sector clients that investigates whether target inventions possess novelty and inventive step by searching published patent literature and non-patent literature. Delivered as a customized search report by AIRI's team of former JPO examiners and experienced engineers.
• Infringement Prevention Survey / FTO Search (侵害予防調査) Service investigating whether new products may infringe third-party patent rights by searching granted patents in target sales countries. Also called a clearance or freedom-to-operate (FTO) survey. Supports corporate product launch and market entry decisions.
• Invalidation Material Search (無効資料調査) Service searching for references that deny the novelty or inventive step of already-granted patents, to support patent invalidation proceedings. Standard delivery is approximately 4-6 weeks with express service available. In more than half of cases, AIRI discovers new prior art that can be used for patent invalidation.
• Invalidation Material Search (English-language service) English-language version of AIRI's invalidation material search service for non-native Japanese clients, enabling them to find invalidation materials in Japanese-language patent and non-patent literature.
• Technology and Market Trend Survey (技術・市場動向調査) Consulting service collecting technical and business information and providing analysis from multiple perspectives including technology trends, patent trends, and market analysis. Customized per client engagement with separate fee schedule.
• IP Business Outsourcing (知財業務アウトソーシング) Service taking over client's intellectual property operations including patent monitoring, literature watching, patent classification, patent map creation, portfolio management, and IP due diligence. Provides ongoing operational support for corporate IP departments.
• AI²PS AIRI's proprietary generative AI tool developed to enhance the efficiency of information search and patent examination processes. Processes text to generate useful suggestions and identify relevant patent literature for patent invalidation and prior art research. Recognized with two special awards at NEDO's GENIAC-PRIZE program.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2024年度に特許庁から21,437件の先行技術調査を受託し、民間企業として業界シェア1位（17%超）を達成
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NEDO（GENIAC-PRIZEプログラム）coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026AIRI participated in the NEDO-funded GENIAC-PRIZE program, developing the AI²PS generative AI tool for patent examination efficiency. AIRI received two Special Performance Awards in Domain 2 (efficiency improvements in government examination operations) for its AI tool's useful insight and literature presentation capabilities.
• 芝浦工業大学（芝浦ビジネスモデルコンペティション）minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 5 October 2025AIRI sponsored the 10th Shibaura Business Model Competition (SBMC) organized by Shibaura Institute of Technology, held from May 21 to October 5, 2025. AIRI presented the 'AIRI Award' to team R.& (Land) for their innovative aromatherapy product concept using a unique volatile control binder technology.
• 2025知財・情報フェア＆コンファレンスminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 September 2025AIRI exhibited at the 2025 Intellectual Property & Information Fair & Conference (PIFC 2025) held September 10-12 at Tokyo Big Site West Hall 3-4. This is an annual industry event for IP professionals.
• かながわ再生・細胞医療産業化ネットワーク（RINK）minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 February 2025AIRI joined RINK (Kanagawa Regenerative & Cell Therapy Industrialization Network) as a supporter member on February 28, 2025. RINK is an organization promoting the industrialization of regenerative and cell medicine, based in the Tonomachi area of Kawasaki City, Kanagawa. AIRI supports innovation in Japan's regenerative and cell medicine field through its IP expertise.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves18 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Patentics: AI-driven patent search and analytics platform strong in Asian patent literature. Directly comparable as a technology-driven patent search competitor, particularly relevant to AIRI's AI²PS strategy.
• Relecura: Patent analytics and IP intelligence platform using AI/ML. Comparable as an AI-enabled patent analytics challenger targeting similar corporate IP and law firm buyers as AIRI's civilian clients.
• Octimine: AI-powered patent search and similarity analysis. Comparable as a focused patent-search-tech vendor applying machine learning to prior art and patent similarity — same competitive arena as AIRI's AI²PS tool.

Direct peers

• Minesoft: Specialist patent search and analytics vendor (Pat-KM, Pat-X). Closely comparable to AIRI as a focused prior art and IP search provider serving law firms and patent attorneys.

Broad incumbents

• Anaqua: IP management and analytics software platform used by corporates and law firms. Comparable as a higher-end IP platform competitor for AIRI's enterprise clients needing integrated portfolio and search workflows.
• Questel: Global IP services and patent search/analytics provider (Orbit Intelligence). Comparable as an established incumbent offering patent search and IP analytics internationally, competing for global IP services budgets.
• LexisNexis PatentAdvisor: Patent analytics, search, and IP workflow platform. Comparable as an established patent intelligence vendor serving law firms and corporate IP departments — directly overlapping with AIRI's civilian client base.
• Clarivate: Global IP analytics and patent search giant (Derwent, MarkMonitor). Comparable as a patent search and IP intelligence provider at much larger scale; competes for cross-border IP services budgets that AIRI's English-language service targets.

Regional players

• Wisdomain: Asian patent analytics and IP services provider. Comparable as a regional patent intelligence vendor operating in adjacent Asian markets and serving similar corporate IP strategy use cases.

Others

• Yokogawa Electric IP Division / Japanese patent attorney firms (e.g., TMI Associates): Japanese IP law firms and in-house corporate IP functions. Comparable as buyer-adjacent peers who either outsource searches to AIRI or compete for portions of the same IP services work; relevant as competitive context rather than direct competitors.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 AIRI