Aon sues Zesty.ai for using its AI-based risk analysis tech without permission

By Isha Marathe

Feb 21 - (The Insurer) - Aon sued analytics and modeling start-up Zesty.ai in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware on Wednesday, in a case where the broker is alleging that San Francisco-based firm infringed on four Aon patents to power its 'Z-Property' tool.

Aon has claimed eight counts of patent infringement against the startup and is asking the court for a permanent injunction on using and selling its tech, damages to be determined, and a jury trial, according to the complaint.

Zesty.ai is a property insurance risk analytics tech provider offering peril-specific analysis of roofs and locations, catering primarily to underwriters. Its tool Z-Property analyses aerial images to determine property risk.

Aon's new tech incorporates a multi-step architecture to bring in data on roofs and locations for the algorithm to then sort its input to provide cost and risk results for property insurers. The broker said the specific method of building out this system falls under one or all of its four patents - '029 patent,' '285 patent,' '481 patent,' and '058 patent.'

The complaint alleges that Zesty.ai is using a similar architecture and process as listed in these patents without Aon's permission to "directly compete with Aon," causing it injury and monetary damages.

"Zesty had pre-filing knowledge of its infringement of the patents-in-suit. For example, Zesty has had actual knowledge of the '029 and ’285 patents since summer of 2020," Aon said in the complaint.

"Despite Aon’s best efforts, Zesty has refused to engage in meaningful licensing discussions and otherwise has refused to provide a basis for any defense to infringement of the patents-in-suit... Aon is left with little choice but to bring this lawsuit to halt Zesty’s willful infringement of the patents-in-suit."

Aon and Zesty.ai did not immediately respond to requests for comment.