LegalOn Technologies Advances AI Contract Review Solutions
Contract review is often slow and manual, placing heavy demands on legal teams who must parse dense language, identify risks, and interpret legal jargon. LegalOn Technologies, a Tokyo-based company, has addressed this challenge with its AI contract review software, now used by 7,000 organizations across Japan, the U.S., and the U.K. The platform commands a strong presence in Japan, serving 25% of all public companies.
Their AI tool, Review, detects risks and recommends edits based on lawyer-developed playbooks and each client's legal standards. LegalOn states the software can reduce contract review time by up to 85%, while enhancing accuracy and quality. Despite this success, the company is pushing further by developing AI agent tools and recently secured $50 million in Series C funding led by Goldman Sachs’ growth equity fund. Existing backers World Innovation Lab (WiL), along with new investors Mori Hamada & Matsumoto (a Japanese law firm), Mizuho Bank, and Shoko Chukin Bank also participated.
Part of the new funding will support expanding their AI agent products, as well as boosting go-to-market efforts in the U.S. and U.K., where LegalOn's business has grown fourfold in the past year. The company has not disclosed its valuation.
Founders and Company Vision
LegalOn was founded in 2017 by former corporate lawyers Nozomu Tsunoda and Masataka Ogasawara. Beyond contract review, their goal is to streamline related tasks like managing legal requests and automating contract administration.
Daniel Lewis, LegalOn’s Global CEO, highlights the company’s key differentiator: a foundation built on attorney-drafted, expert legal content. Unlike many legal tech tools that require users to build rules themselves or rely on generic AI models, LegalOn’s platform is immediately aligned with real legal standards.
Lewis explains: “Our approach ensures contract reviews are accurate, consistent, and practical for legal teams. We offer over 50 attorney-built playbooks, smooth integration with existing workflows, and the solution works out-of-the-box from day one.”
New Tools and Collaborations
Recently, LegalOn launched Matter Management, a tool that helps legal teams track contract requests, assign responsibility, link matters to relevant people and documents, and facilitate collaboration with other departments.
The company has also entered a non-equity technical partnership with OpenAI, granting LegalOn early access to advanced large language models, including those behind ChatGPT.
Lewis describes this as a “technical collaboration” enabling their engineers to work alongside OpenAI’s teams. This cooperation supports their efforts to build AI agents grounded in proprietary legal knowledge and expertise.
Outlook on AI’s Role in Legal Work
The growth of AI continues to fuel investments in legal technology globally. For example, in June, Harvey AI raised $300 million in Series E funding, reaching a $5 billion valuation. Clio also raised $300 million last year, securing a $3 billion valuation.
Despite these advances, LegalOn’s leadership does not foresee AI replacing lawyers anytime soon. Lewis emphasizes:
- Current AI technology cannot fully replace human judgment.
- Lawyers remain essential for oversight, editing, and applying judgment.
- Those lawyers who engage with AI tools gain significant efficiency benefits.
Funding and Investors
The recent Series C round brings LegalOn’s total capital raised to over $200 million. Notable investors include SoftBank Vision Fund, HSG (formerly Sequoia Capital China), Japanese venture capital firm JAFCO, and MUFG Bank.
Legal professionals interested in integrating AI into contract review may find LegalOn’s approach instructive, especially its focus on expert legal content combined with AI capabilities. For further learning on AI applications in law and contract management, explore courses available at Complete AI Training.
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