DeepL strikes deal with US legal AI startup Harvey

DeepL has signed a deal with US AI startup Harvey to translate legal documents, as the German company seeks to expand into heavily regulated industries. DeepL, which is valued at $2 billion, said the collaboration with Harvey, worth $11 billion and reportedly raised at a $15.5 billion valuation, shows the increasing need for specialized AI tools to tackle the complexities of legal work.

The move comes as DeepL, which laid off 250 employees earlier this year, focuses on forming partnerships in industries like legal, finance, pharmaceuticals, and life sciences. The company believes its AI technology's accuracy and security make it a good fit for these sectors.

DeepL, headquartered in Cologne, is known for its AI text translation and writing tools, and has recently expanded into voice-to-voice translation. Among its legal clients is Taylor Wessing. The startup has also ventured into partnerships with other AI translation services.

Harvey, which competes with Swedish rival Legora, serves more than 2,000 lawyers for over 2,400 organizations. As cross-border legal work requires the quick, accurate, and reliable translation of contracts, filings, briefs, evidence, reports, and client materials, even when they are lengthy or highly complex, DeepL will handle more than a third of Harvey's total document translation volume. DeepL's other clients include SoftBank and Mazda.

Jarek Kutylowski, DeepL's founder and CEO, stated: "Working with Harvey brings our specialized Language AI capabilities to even more legal teams around the world, who work across borders every day."