Luminance is a legal technology company that develops artificial intelligence-powered systems for contract processing and review. Founded in 2015 by artificial intelligence experts and mathematicians with academic backgrounds from the University of Cambridge, the company is headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, and operates in global hubs such as London, New York, San Francisco, Dallas, Toronto, Madrid, and Singapore.
Foundation
Luminance was established in September 2015 by a team led by Adam Guthrie (Chief Software Architect) and Dr. Graham Sills (Director of AI). The company’s technology is grounded in academic research in machine learning and natural language processing and is structured to enable legal professionals to analyze documents rapidly and consistently. During its formation, pilot studies conducted with leading London-based law firm Slaughter and May contributed to aligning the product with real-world legal applications.
Technology and Products
Luminance’s systems are built on a proprietary large language model (LLM), trained on more than 150 million legal documents. The company’s “Panel of Judges” approach allows specialized models to produce decisions based on probabilistic consensus. Luminance offers domain-specific, high-accuracy solutions for legal use cases, surpassing the capabilities of general-purpose generative AI systems.
Key products include Luminance Diligence, Luminance Corporate, and Luminance Discovery, which cover tasks such as contract drafting, negotiation, automatic review, and compliance checks. A module called Autopilot enables AI-powered contract negotiations without human intervention. Luminance systems are integrated with Microsoft Word and various document management platforms.
Use Cases
Luminance technology is used by both law firms and multinational corporations. The company serves over 700 clients across more than 70 countries, including organizations such as AMD, Hitachi, LG Chem, Liberty Mutual, Rolls-Royce, BBC Studios, and Lamborghini. Within the legal field, it is applied to a wide range of document types, from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to non-disclosure agreements. In industries such as manufacturing, finance, technology, and pharmaceuticals, it is used for contract analysis, supply chain management, and regulatory compliance.
Financial Status
Since its founding, Luminance has expanded its capital through various investment rounds. In 2018, the company raised funding at a valuation of $100 million. In 2024 and 2025, it secured two additional investments of $40 million and $75 million, respectively. These rounds were led by March Capital, Point72 Private Investments, National Grid Partners, and Slaughter and May. As of 2025, the company’s total funding has exceeded $165 million.
Future Outlook
Luminance aims to expand its product offerings beyond legal departments to include functions such as procurement, compliance, and contract lifecycle management. The company has prioritized growth in the U.S. market and, in alignment with this strategy, has opened offices in cities such as New York, San Francisco, Dallas, and Toronto. In 2024, it increased its workforce by 80%. Luminance advocates that domain-specific AI solutions are more reliable and effective than general-purpose systems and continues to develop specialized legal AI technologies in line with this vision.
