Sequoia Leads $300 Million Investment in Legal AI Trailblazer

Harvey, a rising AI startup revolutionizing the legal industry, has secured a massive $300 million investment led by Sequoia Capital. This latest Series D funding round catapults the company’s valuation to an impressive $3 billion—doubling its worth since July.

The three-year-old startup, founded by former lawyer Winston Weinberg and ex-Google AI researcher Gabe Pereyra, has been riding a wave of investor enthusiasm as businesses embrace AI-powered tools to enhance efficiency. With its legal-focused AI, Harvey is rapidly reshaping how law firms and corporate legal teams conduct research, analyze contracts, and draft critical documents.

 

Skyrocketing Growth: From 40 Clients to 235 in One Year

In an exclusive interview with Fortune, CEO Winston Weinberg revealed that Harvey has crossed $50 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) and is on track to hit $100 million within the next eight months. The company’s expansion has been staggering—growing from 40 clients in early 2024 to 235 across 42 countries, including most of the top 10 U.S. law firms.

Harvey’s AI doesn’t just act as a chatbot; it integrates deep legal context, offering sophisticated suggestions and clarifications tailored to lawyers’ needs. "Legal work is incredibly complex, and a simple chatbot won’t cut it," Weinberg explained. Instead, Harvey’s platform allows attorneys to provide real-time feedback, refining the tool for more accurate results.

 

The Investors Betting Big on Harvey

Beyond Sequoia, Harvey’s latest funding round saw contributions from some of the biggest names in venture capital, including Coatue, Kleiner Perkins, the OpenAI Startup Fund, GV, Conviction, entrepreneur Elad Gil, and RELX Group’s venture arm, REV.

The legal AI market has become increasingly competitive, with major players such as Casetext (acquired by Thomson Reuters), Andreessen-backed Eve, Spellbook, Robin AI, and Lex Machina (owned by LexisNexis) vying for dominance. However, Weinberg believes Harvey’s unique approach—combining top legal minds with AI engineers—gives them a crucial edge.

"We have tons of lawyers on staff designing and evaluating the product," he said. "They’re literally guiding our engineers, explaining exactly how to create different legal work products." This blend of legal expertise and AI engineering ensures that Harvey stays ahead of its competitors.

 

From Law Firm Associate to AI Pioneer

Weinberg’s vision for Harvey was shaped by his early experience as a first-year associate at Los Angeles-based O’Melveny & Myers in 2022. Recognizing the inefficiencies in legal workflows, he joined forces with Pereyra, who had previously worked as a research scientist at Meta and DeepMind.

The duo initially experimented with OpenAI’s GPT-3, using it to answer legal questions sourced from Reddit. Impressed with their prototype, they pitched it directly to OpenAI’s legal team, leading to a pivotal meeting with OpenAI’s C-suite on July 4. That meeting resulted in OpenAI’s first-ever Startup Fund investment in Harvey.

By April the following year, Harvey had secured $21 million in Series A funding, with Sequoia Capital leading the charge.

 

Sequoia’s Confidence in Harvey’s Future

Sequoia partner Pat Grady described Harvey’s legal AI as a “bullseye” for investment. "The legal industry is a $400 billion market in the U.S. alone," he said. "A lot of legal work involves processing vast amounts of text and applying reasoning to it, which AI can excel at."

Despite initial skepticism that AI startups relying on OpenAI models would struggle to differentiate themselves, Harvey has defied the odds. Sequoia, instead of being deterred by the “GPT-wrapper” criticism, doubled down on AI application companies.

Grady emphasized the importance of leadership in Harvey’s success. "In the case of Winston, the skills that make a great founder aren’t necessarily the same as those needed to be a great CEO. But we’ve seen him transform—building strong teams, refining operations, and driving Harvey forward," he noted.

With a solid leadership team, a rapidly growing client base, and cutting-edge AI technology, Harvey is poised to remain at the forefront of the legal AI revolution for years to come.