BigHand has agreed to purchase UK-based AI-powered legal pricing specialists Ayora.
The acquisition, the terms of which are undisclosed, builds on a strategic partnership that began in May. The two parties say the deal will allow them to collaborate more closely and accelerate product development in response to growing demand for AI pricing solutions in legaltech.
The initial phase of the deal is the integration of Ayora with the BigHand Matter Pricing Cloud, its pricing forecasting software offering.
BigHand will also have immediate access to Ayora’s established AI technology, including its specialist data enrichment layer, while the whole of Ayora’s team will join the firm.
Ayora is an AI-powered financial intelligence platform for law firms that helps legal practices to monitor ongoing costs and the pricing of new client business.
BigHand's CEO, Sam Toulson, said: “By bringing Ayora into BigHand, we're combining exceptional AI and pricing expertise with trusted technology to help law firms make smarter commercial decisions, improve profitability and stay ahead in an increasingly competitive market. The acquisition strengthens BigHand's position in one of the fastest-evolving areas of legal technology, where firms are increasingly investing in pricing intelligence, profitability and AI to strengthen commercial performance.”
Stefan Ciesla-Grain, CEO and co-founder of Ayora, becomes managing director of AI and data product strategy at BigHand.
He said: “By becoming part of a trusted legal technology business with the scale, customer relationships and expertise, we will speed up the deployment of our technology and reach more firms around the world.”
In 2020, BigHand acquired UK-based resource management company Mason & Cook, adding resource planning and workforce management capabilities to its legal operations software portfolio. The deal was the first acquisition completed by BigHand after it was acquired by private equity firm Levine Leichtman Capital Partners earlier that year.
Stephen Allen, chief scout at UK legaltech consultancy Trampelpfad, said: "This deal makes a lot of sense for BigHand, which is increasingly positioning itself as a tech company that supports the business of law in a market overcrowded with tech companies looking at the practice of law.
"To some, less sexy but to most, essential. Pricing alongside the resourcing business they bought a few years ago as a direct value chain benefit. It will be interesting to see how others in this sector respond."
The deal follows two acquisitions by BigHand in 2022: San Francisco-based cost analytics platform Digitory Legal, which strengthened its matter pricing and cost analytics capabilities, and US business intelligence and financial analytics provider Iridium Technology, which created a unified platform combining financial, operational and business intelligence data to help law firms improve profitability and performance.
London-based Ayora was founded four years ago by Ciesla-Grain and CTO Gordon McKenzie, who has been appointed BigHand’s senior director of AI and innovation.
There has been growing consolidation in the legaltech market. Last month, Legora completed its fifth purchase this year with a deal to acquire UK AI litigation intelligence start-up Wexler while Harvey acquired New York-based Benchmark, an AI platform for investment firms.
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