Google Ventures (GV) has once again led an investment round for London-based AI legal startup Lawhive.

The investment arm of the tech giant led the startup’s £9.5m seed round earlier this year and is back leading its $40m Series A.

The fresh funding will support the company’s expansion into the US.

“By augmenting the work of human lawyers with our technology, we’re addressing a critical need in the US market and unlocking new opportunities for millions of US attorneys,” said Pierre Proner, CEO and co-founder of Lawhive.

Other investors in Lawhive’s Series A include TQ Ventures, which co-led the round with GV, as well as Balderton Capital, Jigsaw, Episode 1 and Premier League footballers Harry Maguire and Reece James, first reported by Sifted.

“The US legal market, arguably the largest in the world, is ripe for disruption. The pressing need for affordable legal access makes it the perfect environment for innovative tech solutions like Lawhive’s,” said TQ Ventures c0-managing partner Schuster Tanger.

Lawhive, founded in 2021, has built an AI large language model to complete time-consuming administrative legal tasks.

The startup has described itself as “Shopify for law”, as it allows businesses to simplify the process of legal work.

Lawhive also operates a marketplace used to match lawyers with consumers and businesses.

“Access to the law should be a basic right, available to everyone. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case,” Proner said.

“Our vision is to combine AI and best-in-class lawyers to reduce the time and cost of providing high-quality legal support, increasing access for millions of people who need it.”

The legal sector has shown a major interest in incorporating new generative AI technologies, with similar startups like Robin AI and Luminance pulling in major funding rounds this year.

Listen: Podcast: How AI is transforming the legal sector – Robin AI founder Richard Robinson

Already have an account? Log in