Generative A.I. is shaking up the traditionally slow-moving legal world. San Francisco-based Harvey AI is one of the startups leading the charge. With a fresh $300 million in funding from investors including OpenAI’s Startup Fund, the three-year-old company is now valued at $5 billion.
The latest funding round, announced yesterday (June 23), was co-led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue Management. In addition to OpenAI’s Startup Fund, venture capital powerhouses like Sequoia Capital, GV and DST Global also participated. This follows another $300 million raise in February, which valued Harvey at $3 billion.
Founded in 2022, Harvey develops A.I.-powered tools for law firms and corporate legal departments, aiming to streamline repetitive tasks and boost efficiency. The company currently serves 337 legal clients in 53 countries and plans to continue expanding into key international markets. “Fueling global growth is top of mind for us,” Katie Burke, Harvey’s chief people officer, in told Observer. She noted strong traction in the U.K., Australia and India.
For now, Harvey’s focus remains squarely on the legal sector, with top-tier clients like Paul, Weiss and A&O Shearman using the platform to shift away from administrative work and toward more strategic tasks. However, Harvey is also eyeing a broader footprint across professional services—including M&A and tax accounting—areas already reflected in its work with in-house legal teams at firms like PwC. “The best way to think about it is: first step, legal; long-term, broader professional services,” Burke said.
As the legal industry embraces generative A.I., instances of hallucinations—when systems produce inaccurate or fabricated information—have proliferated across court cases. Harvey addresses this through a dual strategy: engineering for accuracy and training clients to “trust but verify.” “Part of what we’re doing is teaching our customers how to think about responsible A.I. use,” said Burke.
Harvey faces competition from more established legal tech players like Ironclad and Clio, each valued above $3 billion. Burke believes Harvey’s edge lies in its high level of customization and strong emphasis on enterprise-grade trust and security. As part of that strategy, the company today unveiled a new Workflow Builder, a feature that enables firms to create tailored A.I. agents adaptable to specific legal workflows.
The latest funding will also support team growth. Harvey currently has more than 340 employees and recently added two senior executives: Siva Gurumurthy, formerly of Motive, as chief technology officer, and John Haddock, a Stripe alum, as chief business officer.