UK contract lifecycle management disruptor Summize has secured £5m Series A investment from YFM Equity Partners (YFM) and Maven Capital Partners (Maven), as it looks to build its presence in the US.
Founded in 2018 by former legal director Tom Dunlop, Summize has experienced rapid growth and now has more than 100 business customers worldwide, including blue-chip companies such as Fujifilm, Everton Football Club, Moonpig and Vodafone.
Its integrated CLM software is designed to make contract workflows smarter by digitising and automating manual legal processes, from contract creation and review to post-signature contract management. The solution is available at the point of need via established platforms including, Teams, Slack and Word, improving collaboration between in-house legal and business users.
The partnership with YFM and Maven will see Summize capitalise on the growth opportunity in the global CLM software market, which is forecast to reach $3.30bn by 2027. We’re told that the business will expand into the US next year.
Dunlop said: “The demand we’re seeing for our technology to solve a genuine problem, experienced by all businesses that deal with contracts, has been extraordinary. It’s clear that most businesses have a challenge when it comes to scaling contract processes and making the entire process much easier and faster. Bolstered by YFM’s support, we are in prime position to develop our game-changing approach to digital contracting even further.
“Digitalising the end-to-end contract lifecycle and integrating directly within the interface of Teams and Slack brings the in-house legal department up-to-speed with its more digitally advanced counterparts in finance, HR or sales. It makes contract processes accessible to everyone, and helps everyone understand each other better.”
The funding was raised through YFM’s British Smaller Companies VCTs and the Maven VCTs.
Investors from YFM were attracted by the rapid growth and efficiency gains from Summize as well as the seniority of the management team. Aside from Dunlop, the team includes former Ivanti senior web developer, David Smith (chief development officer and co-founder); former Ivanti principal software engineer, Richard Somerfield (CTO); former founder and CEO of Purplephish, Ben Audley (CRO); and VP of marketing, Laura Butler.