Tradespace
Get to know Alec Sorensen, Founder & CEO at Tradespace.
Can you share a little about your company’s mission and what drives your work?
Our mission is to drive innovation by helping organizations capture, manage, and commercialize new inventions. We believe the technologies to solve the world’s hardest problems, from curing cancer to decelerating climate change, have already been invented. By breaking down barriers to commercialization, we can ensure these technologies are discovered by the people and companies who can drive the most societal impact.
Prior to founding Tradespace I led IP Commercialization at a consulting firm called Oliver Wyman. In helping leading technology companies spin off IP into new markets, I saw how much even well-resourced companies struggled to commercialize technology. As a result, potentially life-changing technology sat on the shelf. I founded Tradespace to ensure any organization that is developing IP has the opportunity to leverage that IP to drive impact.
What recent project or success are you most proud of?
We recently helped one of the country’s leading R1 universities triage a backlog of 250 disclosures and provisional patents. They were able to get all 250 technologies published on our marketplace, and also used our AI Technology Evaluation to prioritize 20 technologies to proactively market. Since starting their campaign last quarter, they’ve licensed five therapeutics and biotech innovations that will legitimately save lives. These technologies would still be sitting in their backlog without Tradespace.
What are you most looking forward to at the AUTM Annual Meeting?
At last year's Meeting, the community was just beginning to process the new funding constraints. Since then I’ve seen the tech transfer community rise to the occasion in a number of ways and adapt to the new reality. So I'm excited to hear about the strategies folks have tried, what's worked, what hasn't, and their outlooks a year in.
Why is supporting this event important to your organization?
The level of collaboration and knowledge sharing in the tech transfer community has always amazed me. The Annual Meeting plays a key role in building the relationships that make this collaboration possible. Given the existential challenges facing the community, I feel it is essential that we support this event now more than ever.
What do you wish attendees knew about your firm?
Most technology transfer offices know Tradespace as one of the first movers in AI space. In reality, we've been building our IP Management platform for nearly a decade - long before the AI hype. We’ve always believed that a university’s IP Management System should be more than just a docketing tool. That it should help them collect more disclosures, make better filing decisions, develop smarter marketing campaigns, and ultimately get more technologies into the market.
This year at AUTM Annual Meeting, I’m excited to share that vision with the community with the official launch of our IP Management Platform. Universities can now use Tradespace to power their entire technology transfer operation, from invention harvesting to technology evaluation, patent drafting, docketing, annuities, and marketing. All of this with powerful, intuitive AI that enables licensing officers to work faster and more efficiently to better serve inventors and transition more technology to market.
Who are you hoping to connect with at the meeting?
The person on the other side of the Zoom Call screen. Whether that's one of our customers, a prospect, or just someone we’ve talked to on our journey. For me, its always been the human relationships that make this worth it. So even though we already know each other, I always learn something new about them and come away with a deeper appreciation for their worlds when we meet in a new setting.
What’s one fun fact people might not know about your company or team?
Our team has one of the most diverse sets of interests I’ve ever seen. From tiki aficionados to collegiate skiers and former private eyes, everyone has a unique, compelling story about how they came to tech transfer. Be sure to ask them about it at our booth at the Annual Meeting!
What excites you most about the future of the technology transfer field?
I believe we have the ingredients for true, lasting disruption to the practice of technology transfer. In addition to existential challenges to funding, there is an unprecedented shift by companies to reshore R&D in the U.S. And amidst it all, you have a transformational technology like AI. I remember similar combinations in 2001 and 2009, where a combination of economic hardship, shifting corporate priorities, and groundbreaking technologies (internet and cloud, respectively) birthed some of the world’s strongest companies and completely reshaped how people worked.
What is something you are hoping to learn more about at the Annual Meeting?
Now that most technology transfer offices have had exposure to AI, if only through university-wide subscriptions to Microsoft or OpenAI, I’m excited to hear how T2 professionals are thinking about adapting their day-to-day workflows. Because the future of work is still powered by people, so understanding how people are adapting will be critical in this brave new world.
How can people connect with your organization or learn more about your work?
Our exec team is active on LinkedIn, where we all talk about IP and innovation in addition to sharing updates. I tend to focus on the business side of T2 while Marcia covers tech, AI, and the IP community, and Justin talks about IP first principles. You can also visit our website at tradespace.io.