# Alec Sorensen

> Alec Sorensen is the San Francisco-based co-founder and CEO of Tradespace, an AI-powered intellectual property management company. An economics graduate who entered IP through management consulting, he turned years of diligence and commercialization work into a platform meant to connect invention capture, patent development, portfolio decisions, and licensing. Tradespace acquired AI patent-drafting startup Paragon in November 2025 and announced a $15 million Series A in January 2026.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at Tradespace
- **Organizations:** Tradespace, Avascent, Oliver Wyman, Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training, University of Richmond
- **Education:** Economics, University of Richmond
- **Known for:** Facilitated more than $250 million in IP commercialization deals while working in consulting., Built Tradespace into an end-to-end intellectual property management platform., Raised a $4.2 million seed round for Tradespace in 2023.

## Career timeline

- **2012** — Interned at the Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training.
- **2013** — Graduated summa cum laude from the University of Richmond, where he was named the Robins School of Business's Most Outstanding Economics Major.
- **2013** — Interned at Oliver Wyman and began working at Avascent as an analyst.
- **2014-2018** — Progressed through senior analyst, engagement manager, and senior engagement manager roles at Avascent; later led its IP commercialization practice.
- **2017** — Co-founded Tradespace and became CEO.
- **2018** — Moved from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco to grow Tradespace.
- **2019** — Appeared on the University of Richmond's SpiderMade podcast as an alumnus and Tradespace founder.
- **2023** — Tradespace announced a $4.2 million seed round led by Eniac Ventures.
- **2024** — Discussed founder resilience on the Startup Istanbul podcast and IP strategy on the Clause 8 podcast.
- **2025** — Tradespace acquired AI patent-drafting startup Paragon.
- **2026** — Tradespace announced a $15 million Series A led by AVP.

## Achievements

- Facilitated more than $250 million in IP commercialization deals while working in consulting.
- Built Tradespace into an end-to-end intellectual property management platform.
- Raised a $4.2 million seed round for Tradespace in 2023.
- Led Tradespace's acquisition of Paragon in November 2025.
- Raised a $15 million Series A led by AVP in January 2026.
- Graduated summa cum laude and was named the University of Richmond's Most Outstanding Economics Major in 2013.
- Was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Omicron Delta Epsilon.

## Latest updates

- **2026-06** — Published an essay arguing that AI-native patent prosecution will shift routine production work away from traditional billing models and free budget for higher-value strategy.
- **2026-01** — Announced Tradespace's $15 million Series A led by AVP, with participation from Eniac Ventures, Amplo, and Scrum Ventures.
- **2025-11** — Led Tradespace's acquisition of Paragon, adding transparent and traceable AI patent drafting to the broader platform.
- **2025-08** — Published on the concept of an AI-native IP attorney and the redesign of IP practice around AI-enabled workflows.

## Links

- Website: https://tradespace.io
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-sorensen-a325a447

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/alec-sorensen
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-17