The LegalTech Ecosystem in Wales

Validient noted that, ultimately, it is the customer’s perspective that influences the way a business characterises its services: Yes, we're a legal tech company. But I think we fall under a lot of different categories. RegTech, but we could also be FinTech as we do AML checks. We started out with legal clients, but it just depends on what customer we are chatting to. You know, if I'm talking to an accountancy firm, maybe I won't be a LegalTech startup, I'd be more FinTech for them. (Validient) Wales represents the most significant market for both Identitech and Validient, which mostly have Welsh customers. Wyser has customers based all over the UK, while Credas has international customers, in addition to Welsh and English ones. All the interviewees plan for their companies to expand to other sectors and markets in the future. For Credas, “[the] vision for the future is to see widespread adoption of our technology in other sectors and expand internationally” (Credas). Identitech aspires at entering other markets and developing their technology to allow people to be in control of their digital identity – a plan that seems in line with evolving privacy compliance trends. Validient intends to expand more in the UK, but is keen to employ and retain Welsh talent within its workforce. The projected annual increase in LegalTech start-up investment in UK (between £1.6 billion and £2.2 billion by 2026 329 ) should support these ambitious plans. Wales is expected to share in this growth, although the availability of LegalTech training and apprenticeships is seen as critical to support these developments. 330 c) Entrepreneurship in Wales: challenges and opportunities While all the interviewees mentioned support by Welsh Government as a positive factor, Validient and Wyser suggested that both the government and local authorities could enhance their support structures to facilitate growth. This includes broadening access to specialised grants, resources, and support networks, as well as cultivating close relationships between governmental authorities and start-ups. Currently, the Development Bank of Wales dominates funding for start-ups in Wales. Recent research shows that some founders felt trapped by the dependency on the Development Bank for funding. And that there is difficulty in accessing alternative funding options, especially through angel investors and venture capital firms. 331 This resonates with our findings. The interviewees confirmed that the Development Bank is the dominant start-up investor in Wales, but noted that securing series B funding for scaling up in Wales is difficult, as access to capital is limited compared to England, and London in particular. The interviews also showed that obtaining tenders is challenging for smaller start-ups, resulting in a need to partner up with larger organisations or competitors to succeed. One interviewee, in particular, faced difficulties in obtaining government tenders but managed to thrive by partnering up with established players and leveraging their resources and connections.

329 Frontier Economics, “The contribution of Lawtech to the UK economy, A report prepared for Lawtech UK” (8 July 2021), 2, available at https://cms.lawtechuk.io/uploads/Lawtech-economic-contribution-fe-report-2021.pdf. 330 Jomati report (n 3), 7. 331 Thomas et al. (n 324), 13.

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