Instacart Buys Hundreds of Patents
As it prepares to go public, Instacart is on patent buying spree.
The grocery delivery service has struck a deal to acquire more than 250 patents from IBM. Financial terms were not disclosed, nor did either company give details about the patents in question. According to ZDNet, IBM in 2020 “received 9,130 patents.”
The deal comes as Instacart prepares to go public, expands its executive ranks and keeps growing, thanks in large part to the rise of grocery e-commerce during the pandemic.
In addition, IBM and Instacart have entered into a mutual patent cross license. The agreement allows Instacart to continue to strengthen its own patent portfolio, and the license gives Instacart freedom of action to use IBM patents in the future growth of its business. Financial terms were not disclosed.
"IBM has had a long standing commitment to innovation and the sharing of our patented inventions within the industry, especially high-growth technology companies like Instacart that are establishing innovative solutions for critically needed food delivery during these challenging times. We look forward to a long term innovation partnership with Instacart," said William LaFontaine, general manager of Intellectual Property for IBM.
"We're pleased to have an innovation partnership with IBM. This acquisition of patents from IBM and licensing agreement provides us with stronger intellectual property protection and gives us even more freedom to innovate for all the customers, shoppers and retailers who rely on our platform," said Edison Lin, Intellectual Property Counsel at Instacart.
Instacart today partners with more than 500 national, regional and local retailers, including unique brand names, to offer delivery and pickup services from nearly 40,000 stores across more than 5,500 cities in North America. Instacart is available to 85% of U.S. households and 70% of Canadian households.
