Edinburgh-based Wordsmith, which calls itself an “AI-powered legal assistant platform,” said it has raised $5 million to “transform the legal industry and unleash a new generation of hyper-skilled legal professionals.”

The seed funding was led by Index Ventures, with participation from General Catalyst and angel investors including Skyscanner founder Gareth Williams.

“AI is not about replacing professionals,” said Wordsmith CEO Ross McNairn.

“It’s about making them better at their jobs. Just as the word processor didn’t replace writers, but instead made them more productive, Wordsmith is ushering in a new era of AI-assisted professional services.”

Hannah Seal, the partner at Index Ventures who led the investment, said: “Wordsmith is at the vanguard of a fundamental shift in how professional services are delivered.

“It’s not about replacement but augmentation. By harnessing the power of generative AI, they’re not only transforming the legal industry, but also paving the way for a future in which AI-assisted professionals can provide better, faster, and more affordable services to their clients.”

Wordsmith was founded in 2023 by McNairn, Volodymyr Giginiak and Robbie Falkenthal.

After training as a lawyer, McNairn sold his first startup to Skyscanner in 2016 and most recently was Chief Product and Technology Officer at Travelperk.

CTO Giginiak, one of the first engineers at Meta in London who worked for a decade in key roles at Facebook and Instagram, was helping to implement anti-drone technology for the Ukrainian army before joining Wordsmith.

Robbie Falkenthal, COO, is a qualified lawyer who has previously held senior roles at KPMG and Travelperk.