Startup Libryo secures seed-round money for global companies to understand legal operations

Startup, Libryo is one of the first companies to benefit from the Seedcamp and Nextlaw Lab partnership investing in early stage legal-tech companies.

Founded in 2016 in London, Libryo is the first business to receive investment from Innogy’s UK Innovation Hub, and new investors include Innogy, Force Over Mass, and angel investors, alongside follow-on investment from Seedcamp and Nextlaw Labs, bringing total funding to date to $1.2m.

Libryo’s platform enables any person in any organisation to understand where they stand legally at any time. The company has today (September 28) announced a $1m (around £700k) seed round to expand its team with critical hires.

Peter Flynn, co-founder and CEO of Libryo, commented: “At Libryo we serve customers across many countries by providing certainty and comfort, through our process of providing the right regulatory information for them, at the right time.

“For lawyers, we’re helping to alleviate some of the legal research work, which their clients are often unwilling to pay for, so that they can focus on adding premium value to their clients in other areas.”

The Libryo Platform was built to overcome regulatory complexity. Its fundamental purpose is to empower organisations globally and to know, for sure, what they are required to do by law and regulation.

The legal tech software-as-a-service is designed for compliance professionals and in-house lawyers to answer the question immediately and accurately in an automated, efficient and cost effective manner.

Investors included in this round include previous investors Seedcamp and Nextlaw Labs, as part of the Seedcamp X Nextlaw Labs partnership for early investment into legaltech companies, of which Libryo was one of its first startups.

In the past year the business has expanded from five to 50 countries, 45 of which are across Sub-Saharan Africa. This seed round will help to expand the business further across four continents - Africa, Europe, North America and Australia - in the next 18-24 months.

The co-founders recognised a need to create a platform that was efficient and cost-effective, offering multi-national companies a better way to know and be updated of the regulations faced at each operation.

In its first year the company had an annual revenue of £150k, which has already grown nearly threefold in 2017. The ambition is to reach a revenue of £2.5m in the next two years.

On the seed investment, Flynn added: “To have received the backing of these notable investors and programmes is a real validation of our product and the service that we offer our customers, as well as the huge market opportunity we see.”

Kate Jack, Head of UK Innovation Hub for Innogy, concluded: “We’re delighted to be supporting the Libryo team as they move forward into the next phase of their growth.

“We believe in the team’s strong strategic vision and are excited for the opportunities ahead.”

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