EnforceShield Raises €1.7M to Automate IP Enforcement in the Age of AI

Vilnius-based LegalTech startup EnforceShield has raised €1.7 million in a Seed round to scale its autonomous intellectual property (IP) enforcement platform and help businesses combat the growing wave of AI-powered counterfeiting, piracy and brand abuse.

The round was led by Vendep Capital, with participation from FIRSTPICK VC. The new capital will support the development of more sophisticated enforcement workflows, broader IP lifecycle management and the company’s commercial expansion in the United States.

Built by an IP Lawyer

Founded in 2024 by Rytis Rudzinskas, EnforceShield was created from years of hands-on experience in digital IP enforcement. Rudzinskas, a practising IP attorney, saw that adding more lawyers and analysts could increase capacity but could not solve the fundamental scaling problem as online infringement continued to grow.

The company is now building an AI-native alternative that can perform the operational work of IP enforcement rather than simply assisting human teams.

From Detection to Enforcement

EnforceShield operates as a SaaS platform that handles the complete enforcement cycle. Its system detects potential violations across marketplaces, social media, websites, search engines and advertising platforms before applying legal and platform-specific logic to determine whether action should be taken.

The workflow covers detection, legal validation, takedown execution, monitoring and escalation. Its AI agents evaluate factors including the rights holder’s IP portfolio, evidence, applicable laws, likelihood of confusion, unauthorized use and platform context before taking enforcement action.

Rather than requiring attorneys and analysts to manually process routine cases, EnforceShield follows a “human-at-the-end” model. AI agents handle standard enforcement decisions, while human experts review exceptions, disputed cases and situations requiring deeper legal intervention.

Responding to AI-Powered IP Abuse

Rudzinskas argues that generative AI has made it easier for bad actors to produce and distribute infringing content at unprecedented scale. EnforceShield was built around the idea that enforcement technology must evolve at the same pace.

The platform is already operating internationally, while the United States represents up to 80% of the company’s sales pipeline. The latest funding will help EnforceShield strengthen its presence in the US and expand its technology across more IP enforcement use cases.

With its attorney-built technology, autonomous workflows and cross-platform coverage, EnforceShield is positioning itself as an infrastructure layer for companies that need to protect intellectual property continuously rather than react to individual infringements after the damage is done.