Britain's RELX has agreed to buy Aistemos, a firm that uses artificial intelligence to classify patents, for around 30 million pounds ($36 million) to enhance its intellectual property (IP) analytics, a source close to the company said.

Aistemos, which trades under the Cipher brand, uses proprietary algorithms to map patents to technologies.

RELX will add Cipher to its flagship IP analytics solution, LexisNexis PatentSight, the source said, giving customers greater insight into global innovation and the strategic values of their patents.

Information provider RELX is increasingly using machine learning and analytics across its legal, risk and science divisions to help its customers' decision making.

It typically spends around 500 million pounds a year on targeted acquisitions, with a focus on new technologies.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by William James)