Puma Growth Partners has announced a $4.3 million funding round lead for Semeris, a company specialising in legal AI for the financial sector.
Semeris uses artificial intelligence to assist financial institutions in streamlining the analysis of legal documents related to Collateralised Loan Obligations (CLOs), Asset-Backed Securities (ABS), Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS), leveraged loans, and high-yield bonds. The company's software has played a part in structuring deals with a combined value exceeding $50 billion and currently serves over 40 enterprise clients, including top investment banks and international law firms.
The legal AI specialist was founded in 2020 by Peter Jasko, previously the head of JPMorgan's European CLO team, and Sam Daroczy, former CEO of Verba Technologies. Verba Technologies was a fintech company acquired by Verint Systems.
Semeris combines large language models with human expertise to analyse complex legal documents, aiming to meet compliance standards in the debt and structured finance markets. This technology offers an alternative to the traditional method that requires professionals to manually sift through extensive legal texts, which is both time-consuming and open to potential errors.
The company's offerings include a repository of over a million analyst-verified data points and a growing library of more than 5,000 analysed structured finance transactions. These resources allow professionals to more efficiently undertake document reviews and maintain quality assurance.
CEO of Semeris, Peter Jasko, stated, "We're thrilled to partner with Puma Growth Partners and independent investors as we embark on this exciting next chapter for Semeris." He emphasized that the investment would facilitate expansion into new asset classes and support the development of AI-powered tools aimed at reducing turnaround times in complicated finance workflows.
Henri Songeur, Investment Director at Puma Growth Partners, remarked on the exceptional opportunity they see in supporting Semeris. "This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to back an ambitious management team with a deep understanding of their customers' user journeys and pain points when reviewing complex financial legal documents," he commented. Songeur highlighted the existing client base of Semeris as a strong validation of the company's product value.
The investment will be used to expand Semeris's sales team and scale its platform to accommodate the growing demand for legal technology solutions powered by generative AI. As regulatory pressures increase and financial deal structures become more intricate, Semeris positions itself as a necessary tool for navigating these complexities.
Puma's involvement is seen as a vital step for Semeris to broaden its range of products and services, enabling it to serve more customers and new markets. The backing from Puma is expected to allow Semeris to establish a stronger foothold in the structured finance domain and explore opportunities in additional financial and legal areas.
