AI-powered legal assistant platform, Wordsmith, has raised $5 million in a round led by Index Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst, and angel investors including Skyscanner founder Gareth Williams.

The investment is a testament to how applied AI is rapidly augmenting and enabling professional services.

“AI is not about replacing professionals,” Wordsmith CEO Ross McNairn said. “Just as the word processor didn’t replace writers, but instead made them more productive, Wordsmith is ushering in a new era of AI-assisted professional services.”

Wordsmith aims to provide a solution to a critical problem faced by in-house legal teams: the overwhelming volume of routine tasks that leave lawyers struggling to keep up with the demands of the business.

“‘In-house lawyers are under immense pressure, constantly being asked to do more with less,’ McNairn said . ‘They’re mired in repetitive work, reviewing countless contracts, answering the same questions over and over, and processing endless questionnaires. It can feel thankless, and leaves little time for the strategic, high-value work that moves the needle for business, and what motivated them to become lawyers in the first place.”

Wordsmith claims that their proprietary ‘lawyer-in-the-loop’ AI technology works 10,000 times faster than humans – responding automatically or with review and approval of a member of the legal team, catering for legal tasks from across the business.

Recommended reading

• World’s First Robotic Squash Coach Being Developed in Scotland
• Euro 2024: Beware Fake Streams and Harry Kane Crypto
• Scots HealthTech Tackling Concussions in Sport

“Wordsmith is at the vanguard of a fundamental shift in how professional services are delivered. It’s not about replacement but augmentation,” Hannah Seal, the partner at Index Ventures who led the investment, said.

“By harnessing the power of generative AI, they’re not only transforming the legal industry, but also paving the way for a future in which AI-assisted professionals can provide better, faster, and more affordable services to their clients.”

Founded in 2023 by McNairn, Volodymyr Giginiak and Robbie Falkenthal, Wordsmith’s customers include tech companies such as Trustpilot, and the team have worked closely with DLA Piper on the design and training of customer AI agents.