Artificial intelligence has transformed one of Silicon Valley's quieter areas into a dynamic focus point. Investors are directing capital toward legal startups in hopes of identifying the next major success ahead of the crowd.

Creating tools for legal professionals was long viewed as an unconventional choice. Backers considered the legal tech space limited in scale, featuring deliberate clients and extended deal timelines.

ChatGPT altered the landscape. Deal timelines that previously extended across years have shortened dramatically to weeks, with founders moving swiftly to leverage advanced models for tasks traditionally handled by attorneys.

Investors across San Francisco and London are seeking to address a gap left by Harvey in their holdings. Capital directed at legal startups globally hit $2.1 billion during the first half of the year, based on Crunchbase figures.

Business Insider consulted several venture capitalists for nominations of standout legal startups under $1 billion in valuation. Their selections follow.

Atticus

Nominated by: Ann Crady Weiss, True Ventures (an investor)

Total funding: more than $100 million, according to the company

What it does: Atticus assists disabled and injured individuals in the United States with identifying suitable legal support and then links them to appropriate attorneys or nonprofits for their needs.

Why it's promising: Atticus operates in a substantial yet underappreciated segment of the legal sector. Public and insurance initiatives allocate over $1 trillion annually to people, yet many face challenges determining eligibility or locating representation. Atticus simplifies this pathway and is expanding rapidly. "I have seen them evolve from a modest operation to the top provider of legal assistance for disabled and injured Americans," noted Ann Crady Weiss, a board member. Atticus now reaches 115,000 individuals yearly and reports securing over $7 billion in cumulative support for clients.

Courtroom

Nominated by: Helen Min, True Ventures (not an investor)

Total funding: Undisclosed

What it does: Courtroom enables litigation groups to evaluate their strategies using simulated juries and judges. Attorneys upload case files to observe potential outcomes for various arguments, testimonies, and storylines.

Why it's promising: Founder Elizabeth Grabowski Parikh gained insight into case development while working internally at a startup and litigating against patent infringers. In June, Courtroom emerged from stealth with support from a group that included OpenAI staff and Relativity's investment arm. Helen Min noted that Courtroom adapts a method validated in marketing, where simulated audiences preview messages before release. In this setting, the audience consists of digital replicas, with elevated consequences.

Crosby

Nominated by: Abby Meyers, Bain Capital Ventures (an investor), and Aydin Senkut, Felicis (not an investor)

Total funding: $86 million, according to the company

What it does: Crosby functions as a law firm offering core legal services to businesses, primarily early-stage startups. It combines attorneys with custom software built on leading models.

Why it's promising: "Instead of offering clients a standalone product, Crosby provides a complete service," explained investor Abby Meyers. This approach may offer Crosby a key edge, as clients could be less inclined to switch to offerings from major labs or attempt internal development. Crosby also gains insights from each reviewed contract, Meyers added, building a unique data resource that can enhance its offerings. The firm recently collaborated with Micro1 on a benchmark to assess model performance in contract negotiations.

DeepJudge

Nominated by: Aydin Senkut, Felicis (an investor)

Total funding: $53 million, according to the company

What it does: DeepJudge enables lawyers to access their firm's existing knowledge base. The platform searches documents, emails, and prior projects, then integrates that information into agents and processes.

Why it's promising: Instead of vying directly with Harvey, DeepJudge aims to serve as the component that enhances Harvey and similar platforms with firm-specific context. Clients include Freshfields, Holland and Knight, Cozen O'Connor, and Greenberg Traurig. Felicis and Coatue supported the firm's $42 million Series A in November. Investor Aydin Senkut described the three founders, former Google researchers from Zurich, as "precisely the technical caliber we seek in such a competitive field."

GC AI

Nominated by: Max Abram, Scale Venture Partners (an investor), and Mallun Yen, Operator Collective (not an investor)

Total funding: $73 million, according to the company

What it does: GC AI accelerates contract tasks for corporate legal departments by assisting with drafting, term reviews, and extracting insights from documents.

Why it's promising: Tools that boost lawyer speed can face resistance from firms billing hourly. In-house teams face the reverse: speed is essential. GC AI targets this group and reports nearly 1,900 clients. Founder Cecilia Ziniti offers experience from three prior general counsel roles. "GC AI appears informed by someone familiar with the routine demands of the role," said Mallun Yen. This background results in a product designed specifically for in-house counsel rather than adapted from a law firm version, according to investor Max Abram.

Laurel

Nominated by: Miloni Madan Presler, IVP (an investor)

Total funding: $153 million, according to the company

What it does: Laurel automatically monitors how lawyers allocate their time and converts the data into timesheets, eliminating the need to reconstruct billable hours weekly.

Why it's promising: Attorneys dislike time tracking, yet firms rely on these records for revenue. Laurel handles the task automatically and helps capture work that might otherwise go unbilled. Over 150 professional services firms use the platform, including EY, Cozen O'Connor, and Husch Blackwell. Investor Miloni Madan Presler is particularly interested in future developments, as Laurel expands from time tracking to support pricing and staffing decisions.

Learned Hand

Nominated by: Ashley Mayer, Coalition (not an investor), and Zach Posner, The LegalTech Fund (not an investor)

Total funding: $5 million, according to the company

What it does: Learned Hand acts as a virtual law clerk, aiding judges and court personnel in reviewing motions, conducting legal research, and drafting rulings more efficiently.

Why it's promising: Courts face overwhelming paperwork and shortages of clerks and research attorneys. "This challenge continues to intensify," said Zach Posner. Learned Hand is active in court systems across 10 states, including the Michigan Supreme Court, and is undergoing trials in Los Angeles County, one of the largest court networks. Ashley Mayer highlighted founder Shlomo Klapper, a former Second Circuit clerk and Palantir veteran, as well suited for the role.

Manifest OS

Nominated by: Max Abram, Scale Venture Partners (not an investor), and Yuanling Yuan, SignalFire (not an investor)

Total funding: $72 million, according to the company

What it does: Manifest operates as a technology-supported law firm that brings lawyers under its structure. The attorneys manage client work and strategy, while Manifest handles operations and develops software to improve efficiency.

Why it's promising: Similar to how Uber increased driver participation by simplifying earnings, Manifest seeks to expand access to legal services by allowing attorneys to handle more clients. The company began with business immigration and has managed over 3,000 visa cases. Investors anticipate expansion into additional practice areas. Manifest has "decisively succeeded in its initial market," said Yuanling Yuan, describing chief executive Dan Mishin as "an exceptional founder."

Patlytics

Nominated by: Yuanling Yuan, SignalFire (an investor)

Total funding: $65 million, according to the company

What it does: Patlytics develops software for law firms and corporate legal teams focused on patent management. Its solutions address the entire process, from invention disclosures and filings to portfolio oversight and disputes.

Why it's promising: While Harvey and Legora compete for the primary lawyer workspace, other startups target specialized legal domains. Patlytics focuses on patent law as an area where general tools may fall short.