AI legal tech firm Legora is eyeing a new funding round as it aims for a $10bn valuation, nearly double the $5.6bn it raised in April.
The Stockholm-based startup, which creates AI tools for law and professional services firms and corporate in-house legal teams to draft and review documents, is reportedly in the early stages of talks with investors to raise the funds.
The tech firm secured backing from Nvidia in its D series round in April, with the tech giant’s venture arm NVentures and Atlassian contributing as new corporate investors. Additional backing came from investors including Barclays, Airtree, Insight Partners, and Liberty Global, which brought the amount of funding raised to $866m.
Legora’s $10bn valuation could include the startup raising new capital alongside selling off some of its existing shares, the Financial Times reported.
According to analysts in the City, Legora’s new round of funding signals ever-growing investor interest in European AI startups.
“Legora potentially reaching a $10 billion-plus valuation just months after its last funding round underscores the strength of investor appetite for a relatively small group of European AI leaders,” Navina Rajan, senior EMEA private capital analyst at PitchBook, told ** City AM**.
Rajan said PitchBook’s latest research shows that AI companies “already account for around one-third of Europe’s potential IPO pipeline, and Legora itself had a 90 per cent predicted probability of an IPO at a €5.2bn valuation as of June.”
“A further step-up in valuation would reinforce how quickly this cohort is scaling, but ultimately these valuations will need to be supported by sustainable growth, unit economics and a credible path towards public-market maturity,” Rajan said.
Legora pushing ahead with law firm partnerships #
Legora is pushing ahead in the legal tech race, as it partners with law firms to create their own AI platforms alongside offering the tool as a commercial product.
In May, the world’s largest law firm by revenue, Kirkland & Ellis, revealed it was partnering with the Swedish tech company and splashing $500m (£370m) on developing its own custom-built AI platform, challenging competitors that rely on third-party tools.
The US-based firm, which has a large office in the City, said it plans to spend hundreds of millions over the next three to four years building the platform, while continuing to invest in other third-party AI tools.
Legora declined to comment.