Patent

To the extent your tech may be patentable, it is usually advisable to apply for that protection. Determining whether your tech is at least potentially patentable would involve some due diligence; e.g., a prior art search and opinion rendered on the results of that search. That same analysis may expose potential source of patent infringement claims.

Your tech doesn't "need" a patent short of some requirement a licensee may likely have or your desire to prevent others from practicing (e.g., making, using, selling, offering to sell) your tech. It is possible that either your tech is not patentable subject matter or that the prior art renders your tech preempted and/or obvious.

A reasonable first step would be to contact a patent attorney to review what you have developed and outline a path to protect your IP to the extent possible.