We are a group of academics working on text classification and are publishing a paper on finding the right patent class for an invention, based on a short description.

We are thinking about commercializing it and wonder if the community would use a tool like that. Is finding the right USPTO/IPC classification a problem? Is there a space for machine learning-based tools?

Give it a try: patentclassifier.com/large_text/ , will be excited to hear your feedback!

FWIW, the target audience for classification is patent *searchers*, which is typically a different community than patent prosecutors or IP attorneys. Not saying that this forum is inappropriate, just that you may have more luck at a place devoted to patent searching.