Deloitte’s UK legal arm, Deloitte Legal, has today launched a tech incubator programme that will host an initial cohort of 14 start-ups. The move marks the latest in a string of tech incubator launches in the UK with Slaughter and May, Allen & Overy and PwC having already entered the market.

The first cohort admitted to the Deloitte Legal Ventures programme was selected from nearly 400 pre-seed to Series A companies.

Growth potential

Deloitte Legal said the start-ups had been chosen both for their potential to grow and their alignment with the firm’s technology strategy.

Almost two-thirds of the companies already have operational products or services with a number of clients. The rest of the cohort are either at a very-early, pre-revenue stage of development, or have chosen to work with Deloitte Legal in order to develop their offering in a sandbox environment.

The programme will see Deloitte Legal become a user of the products and services offered by the chosen start-ups.

The companies will have access to consulting, technology and legal and investment experts from across Deloitte. 

Non-exclusive

The firm said it aimed to build ‘long-term’ and ‘meaningful’ relationships with the cohort but was not seeking exclusivity. Laura Bygrave (pictured), innovation and ventures lead at Deloitte Legal, said: ‘Importantly, we are not seeking to achieve exclusivity through these relationships; we do not want to impose any restrictions that could hinder product development and growth.’

The selected companies operate in a variety of fields, including artificial intelligence, data analytics and predictive analytics.

They include Genie AI, which provides AI-assisted drafting, and Tabled.io, which provides matter management, team collaboration and document analysis capabilities.