Tradespace has acquired Paragon, an AI-driven patent-drafting startup founded by three Princeton computer science students, in a move that positions the company as the first AI-powered platform to support the entire intellectual property lifecycle. The acquisition enables Tradespace to offer a unified platform for invention disclosure, patent drafting, prosecution, portfolio management, and commercialization.
The announcement reflects growing pressure on organizations to accelerate innovation while managing escalating legal costs and lengthy patent drafting timelines. Traditional drafting models can take months and cost tens of thousands of dollars, creating substantial bottlenecks for companies striving to protect and advance their intellectual property.
Paragon’s technology generates accurate, defensible patent drafts with transparent traceability to source materials, enabling IP and R&D teams to verify every claim, citation, and technical detail. The platform’s agent-based system keeps users in control throughout the drafting process with built-in verification checkpoints that preserve professional standards. This model addresses one of the legal industry’s most persistent concerns: ensuring trust in AI for high-stakes, attorney-grade work.
The acquisition strengthens Tradespace’s commitment to accelerating patent development through transparent, reliable AI tools designed to work alongside legal and technical teams. With Paragon’s integration, Tradespace expects to draft 10,000 patents through its platform over the next 18 months, significantly reducing the cost and time required for corporations, universities, and independent inventors to secure intellectual property protection.
As part of the acquisition, Paragon CEO and Co-Founder AbdurRahman (AR) Bhatti joins Tradespace as Head of Product, Patent Drafting. Paragon’s Chief Technology Officer, Ethan Haque, and Chief Engineer, Claire Shin, also transitioned to senior roles within Tradespace’s AI Research team. The startup originated at Princeton University, where Bhatti, Haque, and Shin collaborated while studying computer science. Bhatti began shaping the concept for Paragon as a teenager after seeking his own patent, and went on to secure eleven patents by his sophomore year.
Princeton University supported the student-led company by providing selective access to historical invention disclosures through the Office of Innovation, enabling the founders to train their algorithms and compare their draft outputs to real filed patents. The university now welcomes Paragon’s transition into Tradespace’s growing portfolio of AI-driven IP solutions.
Tradespace and Paragon share a unified mission to democratize access to high-quality patent drafting and empower innovators with tools that make the IP process more efficient, transparent, and accessible. Their aligned focus on trust, traceability, and human-in-the-loop collaboration reflects a shared commitment to responsibly advancing legal AI.
KEY QUOTES:
“When I founded Tradespace, the vision was clear: empower organizations to develop, protect, and commercialize ideas at a much greater scale. In acquiring Paragon, we are investing not only in democratizing the patent drafting process, but in building an approach to legal AI that works alongside IP teams with the same levels of trust, transparency, and expertise they would get from an attorney. With the Paragon team, we also get a unique combination of IP expertise and deep AI research that enables us to continue pushing the boundaries of attorney-grade AI.”
Alec Sorensen, CEO and Co-Founder, Tradespace
“Tradespace has changed how we capture and evaluate ideas across the company. We’re moving faster, from invention to patent, and using AI to do it smarter. That efficiency helps us focus our outside counsel on higher-value work and get innovation to market sooner. The Paragon acquisition reinforces why we partnered with Tradespace in the first place: they’re building an AI-native IP platform designed for speed, clarity, and impact.”
Ilan Hornstein, Global Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, 8×8, Inc.
“For me, it’s always just been about where this technology is going to serve the most people. We wanted to make patent drafting accessible to innovators who needed it. Joining Tradespace makes sense as a natural fit – we get to integrate as a link in the chain of what is already a really strong product. At Princeton, the Office of Innovation raves about them, and when Princeton is that excited about a bleeding-edge product, you know there’s something special there.”
AbdurRahman (AR) Bhatti, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Paragon
“Princeton University’s Office of Innovation supported the independent, student-founded startup company Paragon as it developed an AI-based platform to draft patent applications. In line with our educational mission, our Technology Licensing team recognized the potential benefit of an AI patent-drafting platform and offered the student founders access to a curated number of past invention disclosures to train their algorithm. Using our portfolio, they could then test their ability to draft patents while comparing their output to the patents that were actually filed. We are pleased to see that they have become a part of the Tradespace family of products.”
Craig Arnold, Vice Dean of Innovation and University Innovation Officer, Princeton University
