Authorized know-how firm Filevine introduced immediately it has raised $400 million throughout two funding rounds over the previous 15 months, positioning the Salt Lake Metropolis-based firm as probably the most well-capitalized gamers within the authorized tech area.
The funding consists of a $150 million spherical led by Perception Companions accomplished about 15 months in the past, adopted by a newer spherical of about $260 million co-led by Accel and Halo Fund alongside Perception Companions. Earlier traders, together with Meritech, Stepstone, Run Ventures, and Album Ventures, additionally participated within the newest spherical.
Filevine had beforehand raised about $226.1 million, together with a $108 million Sequence D spherical in April 2022 that was, on the time, one of many largest authorized tech investments ever.
“This cements Filevine as a category-defining authorized know-how platform constructed with AI and absolutely built-in into the working system authorized groups depend on every day,” the corporate stated in an announcement. “Whereas fragmented instruments create silos and supply restricted or incorrect perception, Filevine delivers one holistic AI platform giving authorized groups the dimensions, knowledge, and connectivity they should ship actual enterprise affect.”
The announcement comes simply forward of Filevine’s annual Lex Summit buyer convention, which convenes Sept. 29.
‘We Did Not Want the Cash’
In an interview with LawSites, Filevine cofounder and CEO Ryan Anderson defined that the corporate didn’t initially got down to elevate further capital. “We didn’t want cash,” Anderson stated. “However there was a very good motive for it on this case.”
The catalyst got here from an sudden supply: Ryan Smith, the proprietor of the Utah Jazz and founding father of Qualtrics, who reached out to Anderson in June, following Filevine’s strongest quarter in firm historical past.
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“Ryan known as me and he simply stated, ‘Hey, I would like to spend a while with you,’” Anderson recalled, saying that Smith satisfied him that Filevine was not “getting its due” as a acknowledged model and provided to place collectively an funding crew to assist.
Smith, who famously constructed the “expertise administration” class at Qualtrics earlier than promoting the corporate to SAP, linked Anderson with Accel companions. “After listening to John Locke over at Accel, who’s the associate that did the cope with us, I acquired satisfied that this was time for an opportunistic elevate,” Anderson stated.
Deal with AI Expertise and Model Constructing
Anderson stated that the first use of the brand new capital might be expertise acquisition, significantly in synthetic intelligence and machine studying. “The first factor I believe you’ll see us do is try to exit and compete to get the perfect expertise.”
The corporate, which presently employs slightly below 700 individuals, is particularly concentrating on AI engineers who historically haven’t been drawn to jobs in authorized know-how.
“In case you are an AI engineer immediately, what actually issues to you is being with an organization that believes in an AI-first … method to tips on how to construct merchandise,” Anderson advised me. “And people engineers actually do key off a bit of bit on who your traders are and are they traders which have credibility in that.”
The funding additionally displays Filevine’s broader ambition to lift its profile past the authorized know-how neighborhood. The corporate lately introduced a sponsorship cope with a hockey crew, becoming a member of Clio because the second authorized tech firm with such a sponsorship.
“I don’t know that any authorized tech device goes to develop into a family title, however it’s undoubtedly an initiative of the corporate to get able to possibly sometime IPO,” Anderson stated.
‘Authorized Intelligence Working System’
Filevine positions itself as creating what it calls a “Authorized Working Intelligence System” – a complete platform that integrates case administration with AI capabilities. The corporate serves almost 6,000 prospects and 100,000 authorized professionals, primarily within the space of litigation, throughout legislation companies, authorities businesses, and Fortune 500 enterprises.
Anderson argues that Filevine’s benefit lies in having each the operational system containing all case knowledge and the AI capabilities to floor insights from that info.
“It requires an operational system that has all of the paperwork, the info, the deadlines, the notes, the phases of the case, the witnesses, you already know, all the data that you’d must run a case. It’s a must to have all that to floor that type of element by way of AI,” he stated.
The corporate is especially targeted on litigation workflows, together with what Anderson describes as an end-to-end deposition expertise.
“You may schedule a deposition out of Filevine. We are able to truly host the deposition after which, in fact, stay within the deposition, as you already know, with Depo Copilot, we will floor insights and path and ideas to the attorneys as they’re doing the deposition.”
Agentic AI on the Horizon
Whereas Anderson declined to disclose particular particulars of his product roadmap, he hinted at important developments in agentic AI workflows that might be introduced on the upcoming Lex Summit convention.
“We’ll announce some agentic workflows at Lex and also you’ll have the ability to see the beginnings of Filevine utilizing an agentic stream to do sure issues that we haven’t been capable of do within the system but,” he stated.
Anderson envisions a future the place attorneys can work together conversationally with their authorized working system: “Draft me the preliminary set of discovery for this matter after which set a process for Bob to evaluate these and as soon as Bob has reviewed it, ship an e mail to the managing associate for remaining log out.”
More and more Aggressive Panorama
The authorized tech market has seen an inflow of AI-focused firms over the previous two years, significantly concentrating on litigation workflows the place Filevine initially established its area of interest. In our interview, Anderson acknowledged the elevated competitors however stated he welcomes it.
“I don’t need to cede any of that territory to competing merchandise,” he stated. “We expect now we have constructed a platform that’s uniquely positioned to serve litigators, and meaning we will’t sit on our fingers and say, ‘You ought to be right here as a result of now we have a terrific SaaS platform.’ It means we have to construct the perfect AI workflows for litigators as nicely.”
The corporate reviews over 96% gross retention for Filevine Core, its flagship platform, and internet greenback retention over 120%. Customers add greater than 20 million pages of paperwork every day to the platform, in keeping with the corporate.
Defending the Position of Legal professionals
Anderson pushed again towards Silicon Valley narratives suggesting AI will change attorneys solely. ”
I’ve heard plenty of main lights within the AI area say issues like, ‘Properly, you already know, we’re extra thinking about workflows that truly take the lawyer fully out of the loop.’ I believe that’s misguided,” he stated.
“Once I sit down and I speak with our litigators about how they’re utilizing AI, the quantity of craft and talent and intention they need to deliver to the AI device to make it do what they need it to do is big,” he continued. “It might take years of talent and dedication to have the judgment to know tips on how to use the AI in the precise means.”
Funding Construction and Future Plans
This newest funding was structured as all-equity financing, with a good portion of it representing new capital.
Past expertise acquisition, Anderson stated the corporate could pursue further acquisitions, constructing on its latest buy of Parrot, a court docket reporting and deposition administration firm.
The funding announcement comes as Filevine prepares for the Lex Summit convention, the place the corporate plans to unveil new AI capabilities and proceed constructing its model within the broader know-how ecosystem.
The funding positions Filevine among the many most well-capitalized firms in authorized know-how, because the sector continues to draw important funding amid rising adoption of AI instruments in authorized apply.
