ClearAccessIP

ClearAccessIP was established in 2013 by Nicole Shanahan, a California-based attorney and entrepreneur, who founded the company while attending law school at Santa Clara University. Shanahan's background as a paralegal and patent specialist at firms like Aeon Law and RPX Corporation fueled her interest in leveraging technology to address inefficiencies in the patent system. Her work with patent data revealed the value in aggregating it and creating standardized analysis processes. This realization, combined with an interest in artificial intelligence, led to the creation of ClearAccessIP.

The company provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform designed to help innovators and intellectual property (IP) owners manage, develop, and transact patent-protected technology. The platform uses AI-powered analytics to streamline the traditionally labor-intensive process of patent management, aiming to reduce costs and improve the liquidity of patent portfolios. Clients, which include patent prosecution attorneys, in-house patent management groups, enterprises, investment banks, and research institutions, use the platform for IP creation and monetization. The system automates workflows by syncing with the USPTO, automatically adding notices, documents, and deadlines to a central dashboard.

ClearAccessIP's business model is subscription-based, offering different tiers of service. In 2018, its on-demand service ranged from $50-$185 per user per month, while enterprise systems ranged from $2,000-$40,000 per month. The company secured $3.7 million in seed and note financing in a 2019 funding round involving investors like Alpana Ventures, Plug and Play Ventures, and Bill Tai. In 2020, ClearAccessIP was acquired by IPwe, a competitor in the patent management space.

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