Tech startup LawVu raises $17m funding

LawVu, a tech startup that makes cloud-based software for in-house legal teams, has raised $17 million in a series A funding round led by international venture capital firms.

High growth technology and software investment firm Insight Partners based in New York, teamed up with Australian venture capital firm AirTree Ventures to support LawVu’s ongoing growth plans in the United States.

LawVu has users in more than 30 countries with a number of large global customers, including Telstra, AMP, Linktree, Expedia, PwC and most recently the San Francisco-based tech company Instacart.

Its recurring annual revenue tripled last year, with more than two-thirds of the income generated in US and Australian markets.

“We tripled revenue in 2020, and we’re kind of on track to do something similar again this year,” LawVu chief executive and co-founder Sam Kidd said.

“We were already happy with so far how sales are going in 2021 to one and we’ve got a really strong pipeline of really good potential customers.”

LawVu planned to use the funds to open offices and fill key leadership roles in the US market.

Kidd said the pandemic had made it hard to employ skilled people in New Zealand, but made it easier to hire people in other markets.

“Obviously it’s now a little bit harder for us to travel and see key customers but having key staff in regions makes it possible.”

LawVu’s Legal Workspace brings together technology tools in-house legal team needs to manage contracts, documents, e-billing, outsourced work and reporting, connected to critical third-party tools.

Kidd said there was a demand for the company to expand its offering into other industry sectors, but it had no intention to expand beyond the legal sector.

“For us we want to stay quite focused on the area that we’re in. It’s a massive greenfield opportunity,” he said.