NPIF Maven Equity Finance backs advanced software specialist Summize

Manchester-based developer and provider of software for the legal sector, Summize, has secured an additional £1 million investment in a funding round led by NPIF Maven Equity Finance.

NPIF Maven Equity Finance originally invested £500,000 in Summize in March 2019. Since then the business has developed their prototype and have successfully placed this within the marketplace. The additional investment, which includes £500,000 from the UK Government’s Future Fund, will help the business to grow its customer base both at home and overseas.

The Summize platform is used by in-house and private legal practices to help understand, manage and review contracts more effectively. The software enables users to upload multiple contracts and summarise key points instantly, saving clients up to 85% in time cost per review. It also allows users to build bespoke clauses, making the contract review process more flexible and relevant to each legal team or business’ needs.

The business plans to utilise this latest funding to expand its client base, further develop its product, and support its sales and marketing strategy. Summize is also diversifying into managed services via their partner program, which includes a rewards scheme that encourage businesses to refer their clients to the business's platform, and as part of their service businesses can integrate the Summize software with key programs such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, Outlook and Microsoft Word. 

While the Summize software is aimed primarily at the legal space, it is also suitable for corporate organisations with no legal function to enable them to analyse contracts, make amendments and connect clauses across various contracts. Its platform is already been used by clients, including Brabners, Elior, Zuto and UserZoom.

Jeremy Thompson, Investment Director at Maven said: “Since its inception in 2018, Summize has gone from strength to strength and the phenomenal growth it’s seen since launching its product meant that deciding to back them again was easy. We’re looking forward to using our own expertise and experience to help it take the next step in its ambitious growth journey over the coming years.”

Tom Dunlop, founder and CEO at Summize, said: “Since bringing our product to market, we’ve seen an incredible demand for our services that has only accelerated, despite the current economic climate. As a result, we’ve welcomed a roster of new clients at home and overseas and have been able to start diversifying our offering with a new partner programme and managed contract service. The funding we’ve received so far has been instrumental in this, and this latest investment will help us to continue developing our approach and growing our client base.”