The AI-powered legal spend management platform has been used by international names like Dropbox
Legal spend management platform Brightflag is looking to extend its global reach through a recently completed US$28m investment.
Co-founded in 2014 by CEO Ian Nolan and COO Alex Kelly, a former associate at Irish law firm Matheson, Brightflag offers an AI-powered software concentrating on legal spend management and matter management. The company counts the legal departments of international brands like Dropbox, Volvo, QBE and Uber among its clientele.
“Brightflag’s proprietary AI solution gives a data-based perspective of not only the rates and subtotals billed within a legal invoice, but the specific tasks and activities performed as well,” Brightflag said. “The resulting insights have already helped brands like Dropbox, Volvo and AccuWeather better evaluate law firm performance, refine resourcing strategies and sharpen financial forecasts.”
This type of platform is important in the current environment, with a survey by Gartner Inc indicating that in recent years, the tracking and coordination of legal spending has become a strong priority for companies. However, the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted how technology solutions and adaptation continue to be a chink in the armour of business operations.
“For the second time in the last 15 years, companies are grappling with the legal and financial implications of a global recession,” Nolan said. “Brightflag is providing corporate legal departments with unparalleled visibility into their operations as they work to maximise the strategic value of their spending.”
The million-dollar funding round was led by London-based investor One Peak; participants included Sands Capital Ventures and Frontline Ventures, which are already Brightflag investors.
“We are incredibly excited to back Brightflag and its founders as we see enormous potential in accelerating digital transformation within the legal department and redefining its role from cost centre to essential business partner,” said One Peak managing partner Humbert de Liedekerke. “We look forward to supporting the company in its next phase of growth.”
In addition to expanding its global footprint, the equity generated will be applied towards boosting Brightflag’s product innovation initiatives.
“Brightflag has transformed the way we manage our legal spend. We've automated away several time-consuming processes, gained complete visibility into how we're tracking against budget and been supported by top-notch customer service at every step,” said Dan Cook, Dropbox’s vice president of legal.
In the coming year, Brightflag will aim to sustain its positive growth trend by bolstering its offices in Dublin, New York and Sydney with new hires.
