From left to right: PatSnap co-founders Jeff Tiong, Guan Dian, Markus Haense and Ray Chohan
Credit: PatSnap
It comes as companies around the world are under increasing pressure to increase the pace of innovation. While around $2.4 trillion will be spent on research and development this year, the returns are dwindling.
According to Harvard Business Review the returns to companies’ research spending has declined by around 65pc over the past three decades.
“At SoftBank, we believe AI plays a key role in shaping our future” said Eric Chen, Managing Partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers. “As the research and development market demands solutions that are easy to use and deliver a faster return on investment, PatSnap is a very compelling investment that aligns with our mission.”
The other business leading the funding round is Tencent, the Chinese technology giant that has taken stakes in a series of western companies in recent years. Along with PatSnap, Tencent has backed drone business SenSat, Fortnite maker Epic Games, Reddit and Spotify.
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