Legal artificial intelligence business Luminance has raised $10 million (£7.7 million) in Series B funding, raising its total valuation to $100 million, says the company.

Backers include Invoke Capital, Talis Capital and magic-circle law firm Slaughter and May.

Luminance helps lawyers speed-read legal documents, employing pattern recognition and AI algorithms to spot differences and anomalies in lengthy and often turgid papers.

Its 130 customers so far include 14 of the ‘Global Top 100’ law firms and three of the Big Four accountancy firms. Since its launch in September 2016, thousands of lawyers on six continents are now using Luminance’s machine-learning technology. In 2018 alone, Luminance’s customer base increased by over 150 per cent, with global employee headcount more than doubling in order to meet demand.

And Luminance recently opened a fifth office in New York, adding to bases in London, Cambridge, Chicago and Singapore.

“Luminance remains the only true application of machine learning for legal language present in the market today,” said Vanessa Colomar, partner at Invoke Capital. “The company’s success over the past two years is indicative of the fundamentally different solution it is providing to law firms and in-house legal teams and we are pleased to back the business through its next stage of growth.”

Invoke was founded by controversial investor Mike Lynch, who has been charged with fraud by US authorities following the sale of his Autonomy company to PC giant Hewlett-Packard (Lynch denies all wrongdoing). Following the charges, he resigned from the board of UK cybersecurity firm Dartrace but remains a member of Luminance’s board.

Vasile Foca, managing partner and co-founder of Talis Capital, added: “Luminance has undoubtedly become the market leader in its field and has set the industry benchmark for truly AI-driven legal solutions both technologically and commercially. The legal profession’s adoption of technology, particularly with Luminance, is becoming ever-more present and essential in delivering greater efficiencies whilst providing best-in-class customer service.”

Talis’s $500m investment tech software portfolio includes Darktrace, Onfido, Iwoca, Pirate Studios, Threads and Oh My Green.