IP management company Lecorpio hauls in $10 million it ‘didn’t even need’

Lecorpio chief executive and owner Jay Madsen made it clear this latest haul of $10 million in venture funding for his SaaS startup play was not even  needed.

“We didn’t even need to raise this capital,” the good natured Wharton grad told VentureBeat Thursday.

He wouldn’t be the first entrepreneur to make this claim when talking to a journalist.

Madsen, who has an investment and software background, bought Lecorpio in 2012 for a sum he wouldn’t disclose, even when prodded. The company, with 50 employees, provides intellectual property management software for clients including chip makers, cell phone manufacturers, and energy companies. It provides the software as a service.

Clients use the software to aggregate and share patents and business ideas within their own companies.

The platform, as Lecorpio execs told VentureBeat, is a facilitator of ideas. Lecorpio describes it as a collaborative platform that provides an alternative to outsourcing IP management needs to multiple outside tech companies.

Using Lecorpio’s software means customers keep the exchange of ideas and information in front of them, including “patent & trademark management, e-billing, licensing management and general matters management,” the company said.

Lecorpio is ramping up fast — just last year is had only 10 employees, Madsen said. There are currently 500,000 people using the software, which is subscription based. Madsen was tight-lipped about his customers base but said Praxair, NEC, and Analog Devices are on board. He also refused to disclose revenue numbers.

“We’re moving IP out of the legal department to being a full-time enterprise play. That’s the high level overview,” said chief operating officer Bill Soward.

Customers are guaranteed their data and ideas remain safely within the confines of the platform.

“We offer offense and defensive protection. We really are an end-to-end product,” Madsen said.

Madsen and Soward admitted to competition in the space, specifically from a division of media powerhouse Thomson Reuters and CPA Global. But of course, their solution encompasses more features and better scalability, they said.

Los Angeles-based investment firm M2O let the latest round.