AI-Powered Legal Tech is Redefining Contract Review
The landscape of corporate law is undergoing a seismic shift, with artificial intelligence poised to revolutionize the way legal professionals approach contract negotiations. A promising player in this transformation is Ivo, a legal tech startup that has just secured $16 million in Series A funding with the ambitious goal of eliminating the tedious manual labor associated with contract review.
Ivo’s technology is designed to assist in-house legal teams by automating the process of analyzing and redlining contracts, dramatically reducing the time spent on negotiations. CEO and co-founder Min-Kyu Jung, drawing from his own experience in legal services, explains that contract review has traditionally been a painstakingly manual process. However, the rise of generative AI has finally made it possible to refine and accelerate this work with precision.
By scanning incoming contracts, Ivo’s AI pinpoints clauses that might conflict with a company’s standard terms or introduce unnecessary risks. It then suggests revisions that align with the organization’s interests while maintaining a balanced negotiation stance. The final output is still reviewed by human lawyers, but the process is significantly streamlined. Companies like Canva, Eventbrite, and Weightwatchers have already adopted the technology, and reports indicate that turnaround times have drastically improved. For example, Quora reduced its contract approval time from four days to two, while initial reviews that once took hours are now completed in minutes.
Ivo isn’t alone in the AI-driven contract review space, competing with firms like Ironclad and Icertis. However, Jung argues that Ivo’s use of advanced generative AI offers a more nuanced approach, one that mirrors the judgment of experienced legal professionals rather than simply automating rote tasks. The company is not only refining contract analysis but also broadening its scope with its newly launched Search Agent, a tool that enables businesses to scan and analyze their entire contract repository for insights, risk assessment, and precedent identification.
The recent funding round, led by Costanoa Ventures with contributions from investors like Blackbird VC and Phase One Ventures, brings Ivo’s total funding to over $22 million. These financial resources will be instrumental as the company expands beyond its U.S. base into international markets while enhancing its AI-driven legal solutions. Investors see Ivo as a game-changer, giving legal teams the ability to work faster and with greater accuracy. With the legal industry increasingly embracing AI, tools like Ivo’s are set to redefine how contracts are reviewed and negotiated in the corporate world.
