Count on AI to make legalese easy as A, B, C
Legal work has a pattern: research, draft, review, repeat. Two computer science grads from SUTD saw that pattern and built a system to handle it at scale. Harshit Garg (now a barrister and co-founder & CEO) and Kiran Mohan (software engineer and co-founder & CTO) turned that insight into Lexi - an AI-powered legal associate built for practicing lawyers.
Lexi is the first Indian legal-tech company backed by Y Combinator. The team raised $0.5M in its maiden round, added another $0.5M in the past six months, and plans to raise $2M to scale product and sales.
The origin: a gap every lawyer recognizes
Garg and Mohan spoke with about 200 lawyers and law firms across India, Australia, and Singapore - from district courts to the Supreme Court. The pattern was consistent: drafting and research were still highly manual. Many lawyers were turning down new matters because preparing first drafts ate up hours they didn't have.
That feedback set the focus. If software can cut the time to a solid first draft, lawyers can accept more work without burning out their teams.
What Lexi actually does
- Research: surfaces relevant case law in minutes.
- Drafting: produces rental agreements, notices, affidavits, and more - often in under two minutes.
- Contract analysis: flags risks and key clauses for faster review.
Lexi runs separate AI models for India, Singapore, and the US to respect jurisdictional differences. The platform also gives access to hundreds of thousands of judgments cited in courts, searchable at the point of need.
Privacy and control by default
Every document is protected with end-to-end encryption, and only the lawyer can access it. Customer data is not used to train Lexi's models, reducing exposure and keeping client material confidential. For a refresher on why encryption matters, see this plain-language overview from the EFF: What is encryption?
Traction worth noting
Headquartered in Chennai with operations in India, Singapore, and San Francisco, Lexi has onboarded 100+ law firms and lawyers managing over 7,000 cases. Funding to date totals $1M, with an additional $2M targeted this year for product depth and go-to-market.
How a practicing lawyer can use this now
- Start with templates you repeat often - rental agreements, NDAs, or standard notices.
- Benchmark: time your manual first draft vs. the AI draft. Track revisions, not just speed.
- Use AI for first-pass research, then verify citations before filing or advising.
- Build a review checklist so associates can QA AI drafts for accuracy and tone.
Results to expect (based on current users)
- Minutes to a workable first draft instead of hours or days.
- Higher matter throughput without adding headcount.
- More consistent formatting and clause language across documents.
Founders with legal and engineering depth
Garg completed legal studies in Melbourne and practiced as a barrister. Mohan led teams in blockchain infrastructure, security products, and scaled AI applications in Singapore. They both left their roles and returned to India to launch Lexi in June 2025 - with Garg leading legal and Mohan leading technology.
What's next
Today, Lexi's AI agents cover research, drafting, and contract analysis. The roadmap extends deeper into the case lifecycle, aiming for agents that can manage a matter end-to-end under a lawyer's supervision - from intake to final deliverables.
Upskill your team to get more from AI
If you want structured training for associates and paralegals on research, drafting, and contract analysis with AI, explore AI for Legal.
Bottom line: Automate the repeatable. Keep human judgment for strategy, negotiation, and advocacy. That's how you increase capacity without compromising your standards.
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