Technology Due Diligence

As part of the Research and Development Tax Credit claim, we conduct a detailed state-of-the-art review of the technological field in which our clients operate.

Our state of the Technology Review comprises two parts:

  • Review of prior art patents
  • Review of early stage Venture Capital (VC) backed technology start-ups in the field

Searching of patents can provide a wealth of information about the state-of-the-art of a technology field, especially when undertaken by a qualified patent analyst. We have developed our own advanced method (based upon keyword co-occurrence matrix analysis) and have lectured on this technique to doctoral students at Oxford University Department of Engineering Science to aid them in identifying areas of research for their doctoral studies.

In some fields (such as Software Engineering and IT) the pace of development, combined with the difficulty of obtaining patents, may mean that a patent search cannot define the ‘state-of-the-art’.  In such fields, we have found that a review of early stage (VC backed) investments provides a much more insightful guide to the state-of-the-art.

For clients seeking investment funding

We can provide more detailed analysis of both prior art patents and VC funding in selected areas of technology.  In such cases these reports, coupled with financial modelling, form the basis of an investment proposal pack; potentially with hundreds of pages.

We can provide:

  • Analysis of commercial enterprise databases
  • Detailed reports of VC investments in over 190 different fields of technology