In a significant development for the legal technology industry, Laurel, a company renowned for its automated time capture and analytics solutions, has successfully raised $100 million in a Series C funding round. This round was led by the venture capital firm IVP and included investments from Google Ventures (GV) among others. This infusion of capital is aimed at scaling Laurel’s AI timekeeping platform to address what the company terms the “time intelligence challenge” — the difficulty faced by knowledge-based businesses in accurately linking time with business outcomes.
The funding round also saw new investors such as 01.a, DST Global, Alexis Ohanian, and leaders from well-known tech companies including OpenAI, GitHub, and Dropbox. In addition to these newcomers, existing investors, including ACME, Anthos, and TIME Ventures, also participated in the latest round. For more details, you can access the full article.
Laurel was founded as Time By Ping in 2016. After winning the first Startup Alley pitch competition, the company rapidly expanded its scope from the legal domain into accounting and consulting sectors. Its contribution to automating time capture is evident from its rapid growth, having been listed 700th on the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing U.S. companies last year. Laurel’s tech now serves more than 100 leading firms globally, covering territories such as the U.S., U.K., E.U., Australia, and Canada.
Ajay Vashee, General Partner at IVP, remarked on the vast potential of professional services to undergo AI-driven transformation facilitated by Laurel’s platform. “Professional services represent trillions in global economic activity, yet these firms operate without basic visibility into their core resource — time,” Vashee commented. Founder and CEO Ryan Alshak added that the funding will enable a strategic deployment of AI across multiple knowledge industries, effectively reshaping how time input correlates to outcomes.
This strategic funding round appears to position Laurel on a pathway to redefining operational norms across law, accounting, and consulting industries. For a broader exploration of Laurel’s journey and innovations, further insights are available in the 2022 LawNext podcast interview with Alshak.