Legaltech startup JUPUS has raised €13
million in a Series A funding round led by Semapa Next, with NRW.BANK joining
as a co-investor through its venture capital fund NRW.Venture. Existing
investors Acton Capital and High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) also participated in
the round.
JUPUS has developed what it describes
as Europe’s first AI secretarial service built specifically for law firms. The
platform is designed to automate a wide range of administrative and operational
tasks, including answering client calls, structuring inquiries, preparing cases
and drafting legal documents.
The company is targeting a growing
challenge within the legal profession. Over the past three decades, the number
of newly trained legal assistants in Germany has declined by more than 70 per
cent, while the number of practising lawyers has tripled and administrative
workloads have continued to increase. Small and mid-sized law firms, which make
up the majority of the European legal market, have been particularly affected
by the shortage of support staff.
By automating routine legal
operations, JUPUS aims to reduce administrative burdens and allow lawyers to
spend more time on clients and substantive legal work. According to the
company, its platform saves law firms more than 70 hours per month.
More than
2,000 lawyers currently use the platform, while over 2,000 new legal cases are
processed through JUPUS’ AI each day. In 2025, JUPUS quadrupled its annual
recurring revenue (ARR), tripled its headcount, and more than doubled both its
user base and the number of cases it processes.
René Fergen, lawyer and co-founder of
JUPUS, said that the company is building technology that can independently
handle tasks traditionally carried out by legal assistants, helping law firms
address growing operational pressures while improving access to legal services.
JUPUS sees the growing adoption of AI
across the legal sector as validation of its approach. While generic AI models
provide lawyers with tools to support their work, the company argues that legal
professionals increasingly require solutions tailored to the specific
regulatory, privacy and professional requirements of legal practice.
With the new funding, JUPUS plans to
continue expanding its AI capabilities and strengthen its presence among small
and mid-sized law firms across Europe.