13 legal startups to watch in 2026, according to investors
Investors are increasingly funding legal tech startups as AI tools accelerate sales cycles and improve efficiency in the legal sector. A list of promising startups for 2026 highlights companies like Atticus that are leveraging technology to address underserved areas of the legal market.
Why it matters
The integration of AI into legal services is transforming a traditionally slow-moving industry, creating new investment opportunities and changing how legal aid is delivered.
Sandstone CEO Nick Fleisher, Courtroom CEO Elizabeth Grabowski Parikh, and Crosby CEO Ryan Daniels. Sandstone; Courtroom; Crosby; Business Insider Funding to legal tech startups globally reached $2.1 billion so far in 2026, per Crunchbase data. Business Insider asked a group of investors to nominate the year's most promising legal startups. Their picks include many companies offering legal software or legal services to in-house lawyers. Artificial intelligence has turned one of Silicon Valley's least fashionable sectors into one of its hottest. Investors are pouring money into legal startups, hoping to find the next breakout winner before everyone else does. For a long time, building software for lawyers felt like a contrarian bet. Investors saw legal tech as too small a category, with slow-moving customers and long sales cycles. ChatGPT changed the equation.
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