Luminance Appoints Martina King as Chair

Legal AI pioneer Luminance has appointed Martina King as Chair of the company. She is currently CEO of Featurespace, a machine learning business that helps stop financial crime.

The move follows a busy 2024, where the UK-based company gained a $40m raise and saw rapid revenue growth. The company has also gone all-in on genAI, as well as moving much of its focus toward inhouse legal teams. Recently they launched several new AI features, including one to speed up contract negotiations. Luminance has also opened new offices in San Francisco and Toronto.

Last year, the company’s creator and initially its main financial backer, Mike Lynch, was killed in a freak incident on his yacht in the Mediterranean.

All in all, it’s been quite a roller-coaster for the company.

Meanwhile, King was named 2024’s ‘Tech Businesswoman of the Year’ at the UK Tech Awards. According to her LinkedIn profile she has worked over the years at Yahoo and also started out in her professional life working in advertising at the Guardian.

Eleanor Lightbody, CEO of Luminance, said: ‘Martina is an exceptional leader whose experience in scaling technology businesses within rapidly evolving markets will be invaluable as we continue to expand Luminance.

‘Both of our companies, born in Cambridge, share a strong commitment to innovation and a rich history of developing ground-breaking technologies out of the UK.’

King added: ‘I’m thrilled to join Luminance at such a pivotal moment in its journey. The company’s impressive achievements in 2024 are a testament to the strength of its leadership and market impact. I look forward to bringing my experience in AI and scaling tech companies to help guide Luminance as it continues to redefine the legal sector.’

Rob Webb KC was the former Chair, and the existing board members now include:

  • Eleanor Lightbody (also CEO)
  • Charlotte Golunski
  • Andrew Kanter
  • Vasile Foca
  • Hyun Koo
  • Martina King (Chair).

In other board role news, Jeroen Plink, the well-known legal tech developer, has joined Verbit’s board. Verbit focuses on legal transcription.