Microsoft And Google-Backed Definely Secures $7M To Enhance Legal Documents With AI

British legal tech company Definely has raised a $7 million (£5.6 million) Series A investment round to advance its GenAI proposition that helps draft, edit, and understand legal documents.

Last year, the Microsoft- and Google-backed company released Vault. This tool leverages AI and OCR technology to analyze and extract key information and clauses from an organization’s internal contract repository.

Vault then makes this information readily available to users directly within their documents, exactly when and where it’s needed.

One Of The 50 Fastest-Growing Tech Companies In The UK

Founded by two former Magic Circle lawyers, Nnamdi Emelifeonwu and Feargus MacDaeid – who is registered blind – the duo set out to make legal documents more accessible to those with visual impairments before realizing their solution had wider implications.

“Before we built Definely, lawyers that needed access to information and understand contracts would use Ctrl+F keys, multiple windows, scroll through hundreds of pages, or simply print out documents so that they could reference all the information in one place,” said MacDaeid in a press release.

“As someone who is visually impaired, you can imagine the challenge this represented for me.”

Now, law firms and in-house legal teams such as Dentons, Deloitte, Barclays and Allen & Overy use the Definely Suite to simplify the process of reviewing documents, maximizing efficiency and improving the accuracy of their contracts.

The company is currently headquartered in London, with over 60 employees located globally and has been named one of the 50 fastest-growing tech companies in the UK. Definely aims to add to its existing base of 40,000 active users.

The $7M Series A Round

Octopus Ventures led the $7 million Series A investment round, which included participation from Cornerstone VC, Zrosk Investment Ltd., and some notable angels, including Ajay Patel and Babatunde Soyoye.

As the company advances in incorporating AI, it is also actively looking to expand its technical team.

“AI disruption across the legal sector is set to continue, with productivity and cost efficiency remaining top priorities for legal firms across the globe,” said Edwin Appiah, Partner at Cornerstone VC.

“Definely is well placed to serve enterprise accounts across the spectrum, including a roster of marquee Magic Circle and AM 100 law firms. We couldn’t be more pleased with their progress, having made an initial seed commitment last year.”