Company recently raised USD$900 million, plans to enhance sales, marketing, product support abroad
With customers in 130 countries, Clio’s chief operating officer Ronnie Gurion says broadening the company’s international growth is a priority following the company’s recent USD$900 million investment round.
The Burnaby, BC-based legal software company announced that its latest capital raise pushed its valuation over $3 billion. The Series F investment round was the largest software funding round in the history of the Canadian technology industry.
Gurion says that while law firms and other customers use Clio in 130 countries around the world, outside of North America, the company only has dedicated sales and marketing teams in a handful of them: Ireland, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. He says the company’s long-term strategic growth plans include capturing the untapped opportunity that customer sentiment indicates exists outside those regions.
“The total addressable market for the products that we sell is bigger in the international markets than in the markets that we currently serve. So, there's this massive untapped opportunity that is generally underserved.”
The company plans to create more “localized solutions,” build sales and marketing resources to bolster its products, and make further investments in its AI portfolio.
“We see international expansion as something that can be, not just a good business opportunity, but also really exciting in terms of our mission and how we can continue to transform the legal experience for all,” says Gurion.
The latest funding round was led by New Enterprise Associates, which made a USD$500 million equity investment. Goldman Sachs Asset Management, Sixth Street Growth, CapitalG, and Tidemark also participated. Clio raised USD$110 million in its last funding round in April 2021. Since then, the company has expanded to the Asia-Pacific region and strengthened its presence among mid-market US firms as a provider of cloud-based legal practice management software.
Since the last investment round, Clio has “continued to execute and innovate on our leadership position,” says Gurion. “As you continue to grow, of course, the stakes just get higher. The bar gets higher. So, we continue to focus on building out the best and most robust product.”
In the years since their last fundraise, Clio has moved up the market to serve larger law firms and expanded their product offerings, he says. These new products include Clio Payments, their first fintech offering; Clio Accounting, which they have debuted in the last few weeks; Clio Duo, an AI product that they will launch soon; Clio Draft, which produces legal drafting, document automation, online templates, and cloud-based court forms; and a personal injury add-on.
“The company has really transformed from a multi-product perspective, as well as moving into other markets,” says Gurion.
He says international expansion is more than a “good business opportunity” but also part of their mission: to aid efficiency and access to justice through technology.
“This historic raise was heavily oversubscribed, further demonstrating the overwhelming demand and confidence in Clio’s future,” said Jack Newton, CLIO’s CEO and founder, in a statement. “I’m thrilled to embark on this journey with NEA and our group of exceptional investors. The Clio operating system is the undisputed platform of the legal technology sector, engineered to not only meet but anticipate future industry demands. We are pioneering this future for our customers, driven by our mission to transform the legal experience for all.”
