At a time when artificial intelligence is reshaping how intellectual property is analyzed and protected, building sovereign and trustworthy tools is no longer optional: it’s strategic.
A New Chapter for lipstip
lipstip was founded with a clear ambition: to build advanced AI technologies dedicated to intellectual property professionals.
With the arrival of our new CEO and co-founder, the company is opening a new chapter. One focused on accelerating the development of specialized AI systems designed to support innovation protection.
The goal is ambitious: create AI models specifically trained for industrial property, capable of assisting professionals while meeting the highest standards of reliability, transparency, and security.
Building AI for Intellectual Property
For our new CEO, joining lipstip was driven by a strong sense of purpose.
After taking time to step back and reflect on the next chapter of his career, he felt the need to address a structural challenge: Europe’s technological independence.
“Delegating the intelligence that processes our industrial property to external models is a strategic vulnerability. If we want to build our future autonomously, we must master the technologies that shape and protect our innovations.”
Nicolas Vonthron – lipstip’s new CEO & Co-founder
At lipstip, this conviction translates into a concrete approach: building specialized AI systems designed specifically for intellectual property professionals.
These technologies are developed around four core principles: expertise, explainability, frugality, and sovereignty.
A project rooted in trust
This new chapter is also built on long-standing relationships.
The new CEO joins lipstip alongside co-founders Nicolas Girardin and Alexander Lerbs, partners he has known and worked with for years. Together, they are building a complementary team combining expertise in artificial intelligence, intellectual property, and business development.
Their shared mission is straightforward: make innovation protection more accessible while ensuring that the technologies supporting it remain under European control.
A broader strategic challenge
The question goes beyond a single company.
Today, much of Europe’s digital infrastructure relies on technologies developed elsewhere. Around 80% of the European cloud market is controlled by US providers, while a majority of patent filings in Europe originate from non-European actors.
In the age of AI, this imbalance raises new questions.
Intellectual property data, often among the most sensitive assets of companies and research institutions, flows through technological infrastructures that Europe does not fully control.
For lipstip, addressing this challenge means developing independent technological capabilities designed specifically for the needs of intellectual property professionals.
From reflection to action
Joining lipstip ultimately represents a deliberate choice: to move from observation to action. By building sovereign AI systems dedicated to industrial property, the team aims to contribute to a stronger and more autonomous European innovation ecosystem.
And this is only the beginning of the journey.