Toronto-based Blue J Legal has raised $9.3 million CAD in a series A round.
The round was led by Relay Ventures, with participation from US-based LDV Partners, and returning investors BDC Capital and Mistral Venture Partners. Mistral made an undisclosed investment Blue J Legal in May 2017, though at the time the firm said it would make seed investments of $500,000.
Blue J Legal will use the funding to expand in the US market, expand its product suite, and grow its go-to-market and product development teams.
“Blue J Legal’s artificial intelligence solutions are being rapidly adopted by top legal and accounting professionals because the technology can quickly inform and influence professional advice through insights derived from machine learning applied to case law,” said Alex Baker, partner at Relay Ventures. “In addition to this significant market validation, the company brings together a great team with a unique skillset that includes law, statistics, and technology. This combination is exactly what we look for when making early stage investments.” Concurrent with the funding round, Baker is joining Blue J Legal’s board of directors.
Blue J Legal’s platform launched in 2015 to help tax professionals and lawyers understand how courts would rule on their positions. Its Tax Foresight offering, targeted to tax professionals, allows users to find cases by facts and outcomes instead of keywords or citations, and will be the first product to launch in the US. Its Employment Foresight tool—which previously targeted in-house counsel and employment lawyers—will be expanded to help HR professionals in Canada get clarity on how courts would resolve employment law issues like drug testing and reasonable notice.
Since its launch, Blue J Legal has grown to 30 employees.
“Bringing clarity to the law, everywhere and on-demand, is the foundation for the next generation of legal research,” says Benjamin Alarie, CEO of Blue J Legal. “Our rapid expansion and success in the Canadian market is testament to this. With the ongoing support and confidence of our investors, we will grow our team, bring our proven technology to the U.S. market, and expand our product portfolio.”