About Us

Unlocking the value of IP

Helping IP teams grow from cost centers to value drivers

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Our Story

It started with an idea

Tradespace’s CEO spent years leading IP commercialization deals for some of the largest companies in the world. He saw the value that IP portfolios could create, as well as the challenges IP teams face in unlocking it. Specifically, he saw how little IP teams knew about the history of their own portfolios. Companies kept a record of their patents, but almost no context on the decisions that led to a technology being patented, or how it would support the business. Even if IP teams did have access to this information, they were so busy with the day-to-day work of tracking down disclosures and filing patents they didn’t have time to think strategically.

Alec and Kapil built Tradespace to empower IP teams to focus on strategy and unlock the value of their portfolios. With their unique perspective on IP value and enterprise AI, they’ve developed a platform that reimagines IP management from the ground up. Now, Tradespace has built the industry’s top team of IP experts and AI researchers for leading the industry transition to AI-powered IP management.

Our Investors

Our Guiding Principles

Here’s what we’re made of

Win as a team

Teamwork makes the dream work

Execution focus

Actions over ideas

Customer delight

Go the extra mile to turn clients into champions

Start-up mentality

Bold, innovative, and always evolving

Enjoy the ride

Serious about the work, not ourselves

Our Leadership

Alec
Sorensen

CEO and Co-Founder

As the CEO and co-founder of Tradespace, Alec Sorensen sets our company vision and sells it to our clients and employees. Alec came to the world of IP by way of M&A consulting. Eventually, he turned that work into managing the IP commercialization practice at leading aerospace and defense consulting firm Avascent. There, he generated over $250M in IP monetization deals for Fortune 500 companies like Raytheon, Lockheed Martin, IBM, and others. Alec’s greatest hope for Tradespace is that it helps IP and its professionals find more of the recognition they deserve.

Favorite patented invention

It’d have to be the 1959 patent "Semiconductor device-and-lead structure" filed by Robert Noyce. Not only is it the foundation of modern electronics, it also shows how active collaboration between inventors and patent attorneys can foster incredible innovation. The story goes that Fairchild Semiconductor's patent attorney John Ralls challenged Noyce to find new uses for a colleague's planar processing technique. The result paved the way for practical and scalable integrated circuit manufacturing, without which we wouldn't have AI, or even computers.

Kapil
Israni

Co-founder and CTO

Kapil’s role at Tradespace is to make sure its product and technology are the best they can be through customer empathy. A born builder and problem solver, he served as a consultant at IBM for nearly a decade before becoming a serial entrepreneur and successfully taking his last startup to exit. When he met Alec and Tradespace, he knew he’d found his next adventure because of the technical challenge behind IP’s massive unstructured dataset. Kapil’s secret to solving complex problems and achieving more with less is to break things down into parts. His ultimate aspiration for Tradespace is to make it the go-to platform for the IP industry.

Favorite patented invention

The Wright Brothers' Flying Machine patent is my favorite because it represents one of the most pivotal moments in human history — the invention of controlled, powered flight. This patent didn't just introduce a new technology. It fundamentally changed how we understand travel, exploration, and even the limits of human potential. It's a testament to innovation, perseverance, and the idea that what once seemed impossible can become a reality. This breakthrough laid the groundwork for modern aviation and continues to inspire advancements in aerospace today.

Marcia
Chang

VP IP Operations & Client Success

Marcia ensures that Tradespace’s clients and their operations are well-taken care of. She became a believer in the need for AI-based IP solutions leading the IP Operations team and IP strategy for the Office of the CTO at materials engineering leader Applied Materials. Before that, she held various IP strategy and leadership roles for mobility startup Metawave Corp and HP/HPE. Marcia was trained at top law firms and earned her JD from Santa Clara University, a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, and undergraduate degrees in Computer Engineering and Economics from The University of Kansas. She was named one of Recorder’s Top 50 Women Leaders in Tech Law in 2014.

Favorite patented invention

It’s a toss up for me between the contact lenses that let me see every day and the soccer ball. Contact lenses were a life saver for me when I learned I needed glasses in high school. At the time, there was a major pop song in Brazil about how uncool glasses look and I didn’t want that to be me. Contact lenses let me swim my laps and play sports freely too. As for the soccer ball, we think of them as simple objects, but it’s fascinating how many novel and supposedly non-obvious features they contain. One patent for it is framed in my son’s room.

Justin
Rerko

VP Strategy

Justin’s focus at Tradespace is on helping us scale sustainably. Prior to this role, he was in-house IP and patent counsel for KPMG, LLP and also co-founded KPMG’s externally-focused IP Consulting practice. Justin blends 20+ years of experience across law firm, in-house, corporate strategy, and growth roles. A multi- year member of the IAM Strategy 300: The World’s Leading IP Strategists list, he has a BA, JD and MS, Technology Entrepreneurship (ABT), all from Case Western Reserve University. Justin lives near Washington, D.C. and is an avid photographer.

Favorite patented invention

There’s a design patent from 1929 on a toy in the shape of Mickey Mouse. As the parent of a child who’s recently outgrown animated movies, this patent represents for me the early phases of an iconic institution that’s created so much joy for my family — through the characters themselves, Disney’s revolutionary breakthroughs in animation technology, and their theme park attractions. It’s a beautiful ecosystem of innovation.

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