More and extra authorized professionals are embracing AI, surveys present. Per a current ballot from legaltech firm Clio, 79% of corporations used some type of AI for casework final yr, up from simply 19% in 2023. Despite some skepticism of the tech, in-house counsel has proven an curiosity, as effectively, with one survey suggesting that just about half of attorneys suppose AI can yield value financial savings for his or her departments.
Legaltech suppliers are popping up left and proper to fulfill the demand. SpotDraft, which focuses on constructing contract automation and administration software program, is one such relative newcomer. Founded in 2017, SpotDraft sells instruments to assist in-house authorized groups simplify their contracting duties.
Shashank Bijapur, Madhav Bhagat, and Rohith Salim had been on SpotDraft’s launch workforce. Bijapur, the corporate’s CEO, says that the concept for SpotDraft got here to him whereas he was an affiliate at Bengaluru-based regulation agency White & Case, which handled excessive volumes of company contracts.
SpotDraft’s platform makes use of AI to extract key particulars and clauses from contracts, offering summaries of modifications and recommended follow-up work. A unified activity heart exhibits upcoming deadlines, renewal reminders, and particular person and workforce jobs, serving to orgs keep organized — a minimum of in principle.
One of SpotDraft’s AI-powered options, VerifAI, faucets AI to assessment contracts in opposition to a particular information or template. Another, ClickThrough, retains all contract agreements in a devoted, centralized repository, and lets customers search throughout and make reviews with them.
SpotDraft competes for purchasers in opposition to distributors like LinkSquares, DocuSign-owned Lexion, Workday’s Evisort, and Filevine. But it’s holding its personal, in line with Bijapur. SpotDraft at present has round 400 prospects, and the corporate’s year-over-year income grew 169% final yr.
“We imagine 2025 might be an inflection level for workforce SpotDraft,” Bijapur mentioned. “We’re strongly dedicated to deepening the usage of AI within the product to assist authorized groups unlock efficiencies and drive innovation.”
Investors appear happy with SpotDraft’s progress trajectory. This week, the corporate introduced that it raised $54 million in a Series B spherical led by Vertex Ventures Singapore with participation from Trident Partners.
It most likely didn’t damage that the broader legaltech sector is seeing an infusion of funds after a tough few fiscal quarters. In 2024, VC funding in legaltch reached $2.6 billion, per funding database Pitchbook, up from a decline of lower than $1 billion invested in 2023.
Bringing the corporate’s complete raised to simply over $80 million, the brand new money might be put towards R&D, market enlargement, and rising SpotDraft’s 250-person workforce throughout New York — SpotDraft’s HQ — and Bengaluru.
Bijapur says that SpotDraft is growing an “agentic answer” to assist in-house counsel obtain “strategic enterprise outcomes.” He wouldn’t reveal precisely what type this answer will take, however unsurprisingly, AI is concerned.
“Traditional authorized work is sure by the ‘{dollars} by the hour’ mannequin, the place inefficiency is commonly baked into the system,” Bijapur mentioned. “The agentic answer will work together with different instruments that the in-house workforce makes use of. This will scale back the period of time spent on studying and configuring instruments, permitting the workforce to concentrate on strategic work.”
