Legal AI Rising Star Harvey Secures $160 Million in Funding, Valuation Soars to $8 Billion

December 4, United StatesAI LawTechnology companyHarveyAnnounced the raising of $160 million (approximately RMB 1.131 billion) in Series F funding.financingThe company's valuation reached $8 billion (approximately RMB 56.573 billion).

This funding round comes just five months after the previous one, when the company was valued at $5 billion (approximately RMB 35.358 billion). The company claims its annual recurring revenue reached $100 million (approximately RMB 707 million) in August this year.

This round of financing was led by venture capital firm a16z, with participation from Sequoia Capital, KPCB, WndrCo, Conviction Partners, and others.

To date, Harvey has secured seven rounds of funding, raising over $960 million (approximately RMB 6.79 billion). Investors including OpenAI Ventures and Google Ventures have participated in multiple funding rounds.

Harvey, founded in 2022 by former Google DeepMind researchers and top-tier law firm attorneys, specializes in solving vertical industry challenges through “AI + Legal.” The company has launched a legal AI platform featuring AI assistants, document libraries, databases, and workflows, and has established partnerships with 50 of the top 100 U.S. law firms.

1. Founded by Google executives in collaboration with a Doctor of Jurisprudence, the firm has secured contracts with 50 of the top 100 U.S. law firms.

Harvey was founded in 2022 by co-founders Winston Weinberg and Gabe Pereyra.

Weinberg is the CEO of Harvey. He earned his doctorate from the University of Southern California Gould School of Law. After graduation, he worked for a year at the law firm of O'Melveny & Myers before co-founding Harvey.

▲Winston Weinberg

Another co-founder, Pereira, currently serves as Harvey's chairman. Before co-founding the company with Weinberg, he worked as a research scientist at Google DeepMind and Meta.

▲Gabe Pereyra

Harvey specializes in providing AI solutions for law firms, corporate legal departments, and similar entities. Its flagship product is a legal AI platform featuring multiple functionalities including an AI assistant, secure document repository, knowledge database, and workflow management. This platform optimizes workflows for contract analysis, due diligence, compliance, litigation, and other legal operations.

▲Harvey's AI Assistant Features (Image source: Harvey)

The company's client base includes 700 law firms and enterprises. Official data shows that Harvey has signed contracts with 50 of the top 100 U.S. law firms, serving over 74,000 lawyer users. It has also established partnerships with renowned companies such as PwC, one of the Big Four accounting firms, and U.S. telecom giant Comcast.

▲Harvey's Partner Companies (Image source: Harvey)

Two,OpenAI and Google are racing to investCapital propelled Harvey to the forefront of the industry.

Beyond its Google-backed founders and legal expertise, Harvey holds additional advantages: it entered the market as early as 2022—even before OpenAI launched ChatGPT—and has established a leading position in AI-driven legal services through its technological capabilities, client base, and collaborative experience.

Meanwhile, capital became Harvey's greatest driving force.

In an interview with TechCrunch last month, Weinberg stated that he was inspired by Pereira while handling a landlord-tenant dispute case, using GPT-3 to assist with the case. Together, they developed a chain of reasoning whose AI-generated results were almost entirely validated by a professional lawyer.Subsequently, they sent a cold email to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and OpenAI General Counsel Jason Kwon.

It was precisely because of this email that Harvey became one of the first projects funded by OpenAI's startup fund. Since then, OpenAI has participated in nearly every round of Harvey's financing, and Harvey has consistently been a favorite among top venture capital firms.

To date, Harvey has secured seven rounds of funding, raising over $960 million (approximately RMB 6.79 billion) in total, with the company's valuation reaching $8 billion (approximately RMB 56.573 billion). Previously, Harvey received multiple investments from OpenAI Ventures, Google Ventures, and Sequoia Capital. The specific funding details are as follows:

In December 2022, the company secured a $5 million seed round (approximately RMB 35.358 million) in funding from investors including OpenAI Ventures and Elad Gil.

In November 2023, the company secured a $21 million Series A funding round (approximately RMB 149 million) led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from the OpenAI Ventures fund.

In December 2023, the company secured an $80 million (approximately RMB 565 million) Series B funding round led by Elad Gil and Kleiner Perkins, with participation from the OpenAI Ventures fund.

In July 2024, the company secured $100 million (approximately RMB 707 million) in Series C funding led by Google Ventures, with participation from OpenAI and others.

In February this year, the company secured a $300 million Series D funding round led by Sequoia Capital, with participation from Google Ventures and OpenAI Ventures, achieving a valuation of $3 billion.

In June this year, the company secured a $300 million (approximately RMB 2.12 billion) Series E funding round led by Kleiner Perkins and Coatue, with participation from Google Ventures, OpenAI Ventures, Sequoia Capital, and others. This brought its valuation to $5 billion (approximately RMB 35.358 billion).

Conclusion: Capital Bets on “AI + Vertical Industries” with High Enthusiasm

Elad Gil, a long-term investor in Harvey, stated: “Harvey has become one of the market leaders through its precise alignment of technological capabilities with market positioning.”

Beyond Harvey's inherent strengths—a roster of top-tier clients and near-monopolistic industry influence—it also stands as yet another example of the current venture capital “cult of personality” phenomenon.

Top venture capital firms like OpenAI, Google, and Sequoia Capital are pouring massive investments into Harvey, fueling its upward cycle of attracting top-tier venture capital and premium clients. For companies betting on AI applications in specialized fields, capital remains highly enthusiastic.

Source: TechCrunch, Harvey