Lawhive raises $40 million to go after US ‘Main Street’ lawyers

UK based legal technology startup Lohiffwhich allows small “Main Street” law firms to manage their affairs through an AI-based SaaS platform, is on a tear. In April, it raised a seed round worth $11.9 million. It has now raised $40 million in Series A funding to expand into the US.

The round was co-led by existing investors GV (Google Ventures) and TQ Ventures.

Founded in 2019 by co-founders Pierre Brunner (CEO), Jaime Van Owers (CTO), and Flynn Dolman, Lawhive automates much of the heavy lifting of consumer lawyers, speeding up their response times, allowing them to serve more clients, and… They claim, reducing costs for customers by up to 50%.

They seem to be kicking the door open. according to One report80% of consumer legal needs in the United States are unmet. This equates to $1 trillion in value annually.

So far, most legal tech startups have focused on “big law” firms. These include Harvey, Robin AI, and Spellbook. Most have avoided the “major” law firms, which have much smaller budgets and are harder to monetize. Small businesses have to “manage higher costs amid a shrinking market,” Bronner told TechCrunch, making it a mature market.

“I’m sure we’ll see competition emerge (in the US) but as of now we’re the first movers in this space,” Brunner added.

When asked what drove overall value, which has recently become more tied to DeepTech investments, he said: “I think the fact that we’re bringing together a consumer brand and deep tech, and the deep tech side of what we’re building is our AI. The lawyer and the models, our own models, that we’ve built To spread this, the interest was to combine the aspects of consumer branding, building a global consumer brand, with R&D and a deep technology function, which is fundamental to the progress we have been able to achieve.

Lawhive says its AI, called “Lawrence,” has passed Part 1 of the Solicitors Qualification Examination (SQE). Lawyers can also use the platform to work with their clients or connect with consumers and small businesses through the Lawhive marketplace.

Schuster Tanger, co-founder and co-managing partner at TQ Ventures, added: “The US legal market, arguably the largest in the world, is ripe for disruption. The pressing need for affordable legal access makes it an ideal environment for innovative technology solutions like Lawhive’s.

Also taking part in the tour were Balderton Capital, Jigsaw Episode 1, and Premier League footballers Harry Maguire and Reece James.