Keith, a law firm startup, has raised £2 million in a seed round led by Backed VC, with participation from Breega and several angel investors. It is building a fully regulated law firm with AI at its core, aiming to automate up to 80% of traditionally human legal work and provide a 24/7 client helpline.
It is designed to address a system widely seen as slow, opaque and fundamentally broken, where more than 530,000 UK property transactions fall through each year. Conveyancing will be Keith’s first market, with plans to expand to other practice areas. At its core is a network of specialised AI agents that handle document review, drafting, communication and workflow management within controlled legal frameworks and with human oversight, enabling continuous operation and faster service for clients.
It is targeting a 70% reduction in transaction times to mitigate risk and stress for clients. Its client service agent will be available 24/7 via phone and WhatsApp, with the ability to answer questions, provide updates and take actions instantly.
Keith was founded by Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman, who previously founded the plant-based food brand THIS, alongside Sam Tucker, who previously started hybrid scheduling platform Common Surface and oversees product. Eddie Goldsmith, former Chairman of the UK Conveyancing Association and founder of a conveyancing firm in the 90s, is a strategic advisor and non-executive director.
It is entering a £54 billion UK legal market that remains highly fragmented and largely unchanged for decades, and aims to launch in Q3 2026.
I tried to buy a house around a year ago and had a monumental shocker. Sleepless nights, hounding solicitors and a dodgy seller - the full works. I was blown away by how clunky the process was, and how no technology was being incorporated to help. Legal services haven’t yet been transformed by tech, but it’s coming. And when it does, it won’t look like a traditional law firm with software bolted on - we think it will look like Keith.
For most people, dealing with a solicitor means waiting, chasing and not knowing what’s going on. Keith removed those pain-points using technology, and we’re hugely excited to back the business.
