Joshua Browder’s DoNotPay legal bot has just gained $1.1 million in seed funding, led by one of the most important venture capital firms in the world, Andreessen Horowitz.
The money will be used to tackle more complicated areas of the law by the legal bot. Divorce, immigration, small claims, property tax and more corporate takedowns are on their way, Browder said, and added that ‘perhaps the last app that everyone downloads is the one that solves all of their problems for free’.
Greylock Partners and lawyers from the firm Wilson Sonsini also participated in the round.
‘I am not doing this to make any money whatsoever. As part of the funding (and all future financings), I will take a $1/pound salary until the law is free for everyone in America/UK. Of course, we are a long way from that goal, but I hope that DoNotPay will ultimately give everyone the same legal power as the richest in society,’ Browder added.
Artificial Lawyer discussed the huge funding boost with Browder and this is what the A2J pioneer said:
– What does this funding mean to you?
I have seen just how exploitative the law can be for consumers. However, as just one person, I can’t do everything. The funding allows me to build a world class team to go after more areas with better design and technology! I’m lucky to be just getting started.
– How will Andreessen Horowitz receive a return on their investment?
There are an unlimited number of problems in the world. Perhaps the last app that everybody uses is the one that solves all of their problems for free. All my legal products will continue to be free for consumers; however, I wouldn’t be against finding other ways to make it commercially sustainable, which, if tens of millions of people are using your product, is not impossible. The priority right now is to make the law free in as many ways as possible.
– What will the funding be used for? E.g. more staff, marketing, new tech?
Design and engineering. We have already started and have many exciting announcements coming up, including a completely new design and some true “A.I” products.
– Will you be managing DNP full time, or also doing other jobs?
Full time. I’m committed to my vision and greatly dislike corporate life!
– In terms of developing the DNP platform, will this $ allow new types of tech to be tested, e.g. moving beyond the current chat bot?
Absolutely. The biggest misconception about DoNotPay is that we are done. In fact, we are less than 1% of the way there. Filling in PDFs is great for parking tickets and consumer rights, but we need to develop more advanced technology to truly replace lawyers at higher levels.
– And, last question – you’re taking on a massive task to make law free – which is great – do you hope others will also get behind your initiative?
Of course. I have been amazed by the legal technology community that I am lucky to be an accidental part of. My biggest wish is that the smartest minds didn’t go to enterprise and instead focused on the consumer issues. We don’t need another ‘enterprise blockchain AI platform’. What we need is to fight Equifax!
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