Definely, a Nigerian legal technology startup, has announced a £2.2 million funding round. M12, Microsoft’s venture fund, led the funding round, which was supported by CRE Venture Capital. Following a seed round in September 2020, the startup’s total funding will be £3.4m.
Definely is a London-based legaltech that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to simplify the drafting, reading, and understanding of contracts. It was founded in 2017 by Nigerian-born Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, who currently serves as its CEO, and Feargus Macdaeid.
The startup eliminates the stress that lawyers used to experience when sifting through endless pages of both soft and hard copies of legal documents to find and make sense of the important information they require.
Definely’s business is simply to assist law firms in leveraging technology. The startup claims to have developed user-friendly software that streamlines the contract drafting and review process for lawyers, allowing them to easily access and edit key information with a single click from anywhere in their document.
The startup’s user base has increased by 500% year over year. Some of the world’s largest law firms, financial institutions, and multinational corporations use it, including Deloitte, Allen & Overy, and Dentons.
It also expects its growth rate to increase as global demand for and adoption of legal technology grows at an exponential rate. According to the startup, the use of technology will be a major criterion for organizations seeking to hire law firms.
As a result, the legaltech firm says it will use the latest funding to “accelerate product development, expand its world-class team, and drive further expansion into markets beyond the UK.”
Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, Co-founder and CEO of Definely, stated that legaltech is no longer a fledgling sector and is quickly becoming an integral part of how today’s legal practitioners work.
Definely has gained a lot of traction along the way. During the 2021 Tech Nation Rising Stars competition, the startup was named one of the ten most exciting early stage scaleups in the UK.
In addition, the startup was one of six Nigerian-led startups chosen for the inaugural Google for Startups £2 million fund for Black Founders in Europe. And, most recently, the startup was named the ‘Most Promising Mature Business’ at KPMG’s Black Entrepreneurs’ Awards.
