AI is coming for the centuries-old legal profession, an area once written off by venture capitalists as uninvestable.

Legal-tech startups offer software, platforms and services intended to help law firms with research and operations.

But the legal profession is entrenched in old habits, making it a hard group to sell to. Laws and regulations also vary widely among jurisdictions, compounding the challenge of making a product at scale. But perhaps the biggest hurdle has been a perceived threat that technology poses to the legal industry’s revenue model of billable hours, as simplifying processes may curb profits.

All of this appears to be changing, though, as the rise of generative AI drives an unprecedented flow of capital into legal tech.

“It feels like for the first time we’re the popular kids,” said Zach Posner, co-founder and managing director at The LegalTech Fund, which, according to PitchBook data, is a top investor in legal-related startups.

Now some of the venture industry’s biggest players are making sizable bets. Harvey, the developer of an all-encompassing AI platform for researching and drafting legal documents, just raised a $100 million Series C led by GV at a $1.5 billion valuation, with additional backing from investors including OpenAI, Sequoia and Elad Gil.

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