Oskar Block has never been able to stay away from entrepreneurship for long.
He was just 18 when he launched his first startup, building machine learning models for sports betting. “I’ve always been drawn to solving difficult data problems,” he told TechCrunch. He went on to consulting, where he helped companies with their AI integration strategies and learned what it took to get large enterprises to embrace the technology.
Block then took a role at an autonomous trucking company, where he saw firsthand how manual and slow the patent process was. The idea for his next company came one evening at dinner with a friend and colleague, Tobias Estreen, when Estreen’s father, a patent attorney, started recounting what his days looked like: “Reading the same kind of documents, the same way he had for thirty years,” Block recalled.
Block and Estreen saw an opening and teamed up with two others, Petrus Werner and Oscar Adamsson, to launch Stilta, an AI platform designed to automate the research and analytical work behind intellectual property cases — the kind of labor-intensive work that has historically made patent litigation slow and expensive. The startup announced a $10.5 million seed round on Tuesday, led by Andreessen Horowitz. Other investors include Y Combinator and operators from companies like OpenAI, Legora, and Lovable.
Block, the company’s CEO, said Stilta works like a team of lawyers. Users put a patent number into the software along with any relevant content, and from there, a network of AI agents gets to work, searching for other patents might conflict with the claim, flagging similar property that could apply, and pulling the filing and court history of the patent.
“They reason in parallel and converge the way a room full of specialists would, but at a scale no human team can match,” Block said, adding that the lawyer or professional using the platform is still in the “driver’s seat” by guiding the analysis, not ceding it. “The output is litigation-grade: a report and claim charts with pinpoint citations to every piece of evidence.”
Other companies in this space include Solve Intelligence and DeepIP. Legal tech has become a hot sector amid the broader AI boom. Block said parts of the legal industry are already seeing AI-accelerated change, while other parts may not be ready for it for a long time.
The analytical work, he said, is already being overtaken by AI. For now, it’s still humans deciding the outcomes of cases. He also noted that many companies are holding on to patents they’ve “never enforced, never licensed, never even analyzed properly because the cost of doing so was prohibitive.”
That cost barrier is what Stilta aims to lower. Making the patent litigation process more efficient and affordable could open up new doors for many companies that have long left their IP on the shelf and change how they think about the latent value sitting inside their patent portfolios.
“The question isn’t really whether the legal system is prepared for AI,” Block said. “It’s whether companies are prepared for what becomes possible when the analytical bottleneck disappears.”
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The African Democratic Congress, ADC, Enugu State chapter, has condemned reported attacks on opposition parties in the state, particularly incidents involving members of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, on Saturday, October 10, 2026.
Speaking through the Obodoeze Media Project, the mouthpiece of the party’s governorship candidate in the state, Ocho Obodoeze Chukwuma, the ADC said the reported use of firearms in a political environment was deeply troubling and represented a serious threat to public safety, democratic participation and peaceful coexistence.
The party sympathised with the NDC, its leadership and members over the disturbing developments.
“We call on the relevant security agencies to conduct a thorough, impartial and transparent investigation, identify those responsible and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice in accordance with the law.
“While reports have circulated alleging that a life was lost, the Enugu State Government has disputed that claim, and the police have reported that a man sustained a suspected gunshot injury.
“We therefore urge the authorities to establish and publicly clarify the facts, while ensuring that the injured receive appropriate care and that justice is not compromised.
“We are equally concerned about the circumstances surrounding the restriction of NDC members who reportedly gathered at Akanu Ibiam International Airport to receive their party’s governorship candidate. Airports require appropriate security arrangements, and all applicable rules must be respected.
“However, those rules must be applied consistently, transparently and without political discrimination. Members of political parties and other groups are regularly seen welcoming associates and leaders at public arrival points.
“Any restriction imposed on one political party must therefore be supported by clear, consistently applied regulations rather than arbitrary or partisan considerations,” the statement said.
The party called on the Federal Ministry of Aviation to institute an independent and transparent inquiry, in conjunction with the appropriate airport authorities, to establish precisely what happened, the basis for the restrictions imposed on the NDC, and whether the same standards are applied to other political parties.
“Public institutions must remain impartial and must never create the impression that lawful civic participation is permitted for one group but denied to another on account of political affiliation.
“At this critical time, we urge all political parties, their supporters and relevant authorities to reject violence, uphold democratic principles and allow lawful political activities to take place in an atmosphere of peace, fairness and mutual respect.
“Our position remains unequivocal: the rule of law must prevail, equality before the law must be upheld, and the dignity of every human person must be recognised and protected, irrespective of political affiliation.
“No individual or group should be above the law, and no citizen should be made to feel that their rights are inferior because of the political party they support.
“Enugu State belongs to all of us. Its peace, democratic institutions and public resources must serve everyone without discrimination,” the party further stated.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons produced a commanding performance to defeat Comoros 5-0 in the second leg of their 2028 Olympic Games qualifying encounter on Tuesday, completing an emphatic 7-0 aggregate victory to advance to the next round.
Sports247 reports that Toni Payne and Uchenna Kanu were the standout performers, scoring twice each, while Christy Ucheibe added another goal as Nigeria demonstrated their attacking quality against the visitors.
The victory followed the Super Falcons’ 2-0 first-leg triumph at the Remo Stars Stadium in Ikenne, Ogun State, giving Nigeria a comfortable advantage heading into the decisive encounter.
Despite entering the match with a two-goal cushion, the Super Falcons approached the second leg determined to extend their advantage rather than simply defend their first-leg result.
Their persistence eventually paid off in the 41st minute when Toni Payne broke the deadlock, putting Nigeria ahead and increasing their aggregate lead to 3-0.
The opening goal ensured that the Nigerian side entered the interval in a commanding position, leaving Comoros with an increasingly difficult task.
The Super Falcons returned for the second half with renewed attacking determination, producing four additional goals to complete an impressive victory.
Uchenna Kanu doubled Nigeria’s lead in the 57th minute before Payne completed her brace six minutes later, making it 3-0 on the day. Kanu then grabbed her second goal in the 67th minute, extending Nigeria’s advantage to four goals.
Christy Ucheibe completed the scoring in the 71st minute, putting the finishing touch on a dominant performance that underlined Nigeria’s superiority across both legs.
The five-goal victory also ensured that the Super Falcons finished the two-legged contest without conceding, recording consecutive clean sheets against Comoros. The result represented a successful outing for interim head coach Austin Eguavoen, who had emphasised the importance of winning rather than relying on Nigeria’s first-leg advantage.
Speaking before the encounter, Eguavoen stressed that maintaining the team’s structure remained his priority, although he welcomed the possibility of scoring more goals. His players responded with an impressive attacking display, scoring five times while maintaining their defensive discipline.
Kanu also delivered on her pre-match ambition after expressing confidence in the squad’s ability to secure another convincing victory.
With Comoros eliminated 7-0 on aggregate, Nigeria will now turn their attention to Morocco in the next round of the qualification campaign.
The upcoming encounter represents another important challenge as the Super Falcons continue their pursuit of a place at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
For Nigeria, the comprehensive victory provides a significant confidence boost ahead of the tougher assignments expected in subsequent rounds.
Five goals, two braces, two clean sheets and a 7-0 aggregate triumph — the Super Falcons have delivered a strong statement of intent as their Olympic qualification journey continues.