Former Freshfields lawyers AI legal tech raises $30m in funding round
An AI-powered legal tech company founded by two former associates from Freshfields has raised $30m (£22.1m) in Series B funding.
Definely was launched in 2020 by Nnamdi Emelifeonwu and Feargus MacDaeid after the pair worked together at Magic Circle law firm.
The founders set out to make legal documents more accessible to those with visual impairments, as MacDaeid is registered blind. They ended up with Definely, which has a wider reach as it focuses on lawyers working under pressure on complex, high-stakes deals.
The tool enables lawyers to create, draft, and review legal documents in one place, using a single tool rather than operating on separate systems or platforms.
Its customers include City law firms A&O, Shearman, Slaughter and May, DLA Piper, and Dentons, as well as in-house corporate counsel for the likes of BT Group, Deloitte, and P&O Cruises.
It is also seeing its growth surge in the US market as 30 per cent of its revenue is made up from business across the Atlantic.
The round included investors Revaia, alongside Alumni Ventures, Beacon Capital, and the legal tech giant Clio. Early investors Octopus Ventures, Zrosk Investment Management, The Raine Group, and Cornerstone VC also participated in the round.
This additional funding brings the total amount raised by Definely to $40m.
Commenting on the funding, Emelifeonwu, stated: “As a business, we are deeply committed to building human-first products, leveraging generative AI not for the sake of it – but to solve real and tangible problems that lawyers face today.”
“As a former lawyer myself, I witnessed some of these problems first-hand,” he added.
Back in April 2024, London-based AI company Luminance received $40m in Series B funding. While in December, footballers Harry Maguire and Reece James were among those that co-led UK legal tech startup Lawhive’s $40m series A funding.