Nnamdi Emelifeonwu had always been intrigued by the work life of his colleague, Feargus MacDaeid, who is one of the few registered blind lawyers in the U.K. and was a fellow practitioner at the global law firm Freshfields.

When Emelifeonwu inquired about what would simplify MacDaeid’s work, the response was straightforward: “Assist me in navigating definitions within complex contracts without losing context,” as Emelifeonwu recounted to TechCrunch. He recognized that the solution to MacDaeid’s request would be beneficial to all lawyers.

In 2017, Emelifeonwu and MacDaeid collaborated to establish Definely, an AI-powered legal technology startup that enables lawyers to review and edit complex contracts more efficiently.

The U.K.-based company announced earlier this week that it had secured $30 million in Series B funding from a mix of European and North American investors, including Revaia, Alumni Ventures, and Beacon Capital. This investment follows a $7 million Series A funding round that the company raised in May of the previous year.

Definely offers a suite of productivity tools designed to streamline the legal drafting and review process. Its features include Draft, which allows lawyers to navigate definitions and clauses within contracts without losing their place; Vault, which enables users to insert clauses with a single click; Proof, which utilizes AI to detect inconsistencies and broken cross-references; and a PDF feature that allows users to extract and analyze points from scanned legal documents.

“Looking ahead, we are expanding our capabilities with an innovative AI system called Enhance, which we recently launched,” Emelifeonwu stated. “This system features AI agents that collaborate with Microsoft Word to complete tasks across drafting, reviewing, and proofreading, thereby streamlining the workload for legal professionals within their existing workflows.”

Emelifeonwu described the fundraising process for this round as “challenging.”

“A close second might be ‘fulfilling,'” he added.

The company connected with its lead investor, Revaia, through an introduction, while the remaining investors approached the company directly. “We didn’t initiate contact with any investors during the Series B round,” Emelifeonwu noted.

The newly acquired capital will be utilized to further the company’s expansion into the U.S. market, which currently accounts for 30% of the company’s revenue. Additionally, the company plans to invest in the AI space and hire more employees.

Other companies operating in the legal contract space include Luminance, Robin AI, and ContractPodAi.

Emelifeonwu, a Nigerian immigrant in the U.K., had aspired to become a lawyer since childhood. However, upon entering the profession, he was struck by the entrepreneurial spirit. “I have always had ideas and explored a few, but when the right idea came along, one that directly addressed the challenges I faced as a lawyer, I knew I had to pursue it,” he explained.

Emelifeonwu is also aware of the significance of securing a substantial funding round, especially given that Black founders statistically account for a relatively small proportion of annual venture fundraising activity.

“Having raised fresh capital and working towards establishing a truly global business, it’s both a personal milestone and, I hope, a signal to others that it’s possible,” he said. “I aim for this to inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs who may not come from traditional backgrounds but possess just as much potential to create lasting impact.”