Canadian tech company valued at US$3 billion after latest round of fundraising
A British Columbia legal tech company has raised US$900 million, drawing in new investors Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Silicon Valley’s New Enterprise Associates Inc. and valuing the company — whose backers already include the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) — at US$3 billion.
The new capital will be used by Themis Solutions Inc., doing business as Clio, to expand in 130 countries and make investments in artificial intelligence and integrated legal payments to expand its platform, which simplifies law firm management by centralizing and handling functions from client intake and case management to court searches and legal aid billing.
Clio is rolling out a proprietary generative AI product that handles routine tasks and analytics aimed at improving efficiency.
Jack Newton, Clio’s founder and chief executive, said the promise of AI technology that can be integrated into more of Clio’s products using in-house and off-the-shelf tech was a key selling point for the new investors in the funding round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA).
“We’ve got a dedicated AI team that is building these technologies from the ground up,” he said. “We’re launching both commercial models as well as building some of our proprietary models and technologies.”
A bit of the shine has come off market-listed AI darlings such as Nvidia Corp., but Newton said the legal sector his company serves is a natural fit for the technology.
“Leading-edge AI technologies … can create real breakthroughs for lawyers when it comes to everything from delivering a better client experience to drafting a legal document more quickly and more accurately,” he said.
He added that he pushes back when it is suggested that AI will put lawyers out
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