Legal Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup Harvey has raised $21m in a funding round led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from OpenAI Startup Fund, Conviction, SV Angel, and Elad Gil. Harvey was founded in 2022, built custom large language models for law firms using OpenAI’s GPT-4, and had previously raised $5m in a round led by the OpenAI Startup Fund. According to Sequoia, the company has attracted interest from more than 15,000 law firms.

Last month, researchers used GPT-4 to pass the bar exam, and major law firms, including Allen & Overy and PwC, have recently adopted similar tools to automate document drafting and research. Legal research company Casetext has also rolled out a similar product, CoCounsel, used by law firms including Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, and Fisher Phillips. Some firms are deping their own in-house AI tools, with Holland & Knight creating an AI tool to review and modify credit agreements and Baker McKenzie integrating large language models into existing services.

Despite the enthusiasm for AI among law firms, many are cautious about testing and implementation, citing the need to protect confidential client data and avoid errors.