Luminance strikes oil as new Dallas base sparks US expansion

The US expansion follows recent expansion of the company’s New York headquarters and key hires across North America, including in San Francisco and Canada, to accommodate accelerated market capture in the region. Luminance reveals that it plans to open two or three more offices in North America in the coming months.

The current scale-up follows a $40 million Series B funding round and more than 5x growth for the company, which was recently unveiled by Arm’s Kirsty Gill as inaugural winner of the new AI Innovation category of the Business Weekly Awards.

The potential for new business from Texas alone is evident in the size of Dallas’ population – 1.3 million compared, for example, to 147,000 in Cambridge.

Luminance has tripled its headcount in the US and Canada since the start of this year. It now has offices in London, Cambridge, New York, Singapore, Madrid, France and Dallas – and says it is continuously hiring.

Founded by AI experts from the University of Cambridge, Luminance now generates more than one-third of its revenue in the US and was recently recognised on the Inc. 5000 list of America’s fastest growing private companies.

It has seen a 225 per cent increase in US customers adopting its flagship product, Luminance Corporate, since January 2023. Today, the company’s customer base spans 700+ organisations in more than 70 countries – from technology giants such as AMD and Hitachi, to food and beverage businesses including AB InBev and Panda Express, pharmaceutical heavyweight LG Chem, and global manufacturers Koch Industries and Yokogawa.

Its recent Series B was led from California by Santa Monica-based VC firm, March Capital, with participation by National Grid Partners, GTM Capital and other existing backers, including leading law firm Slaughter and May.

Eleanor Lightbody, CEO of Luminance, said: “Our recent financing is a testament to the strength of our technology, which is defining a new category of Legal-Grade™ AI.

“To date, Luminance has organically captured market share in the US. Now we are doubling down in Dallas and New York as just the first steps of our US expansion, enabling us to better serve existing customers and bring our specialised, proprietary AI to more organisations worldwide.”

As well as expanding its US footprint – literally with way more boots on the ground – Luminance will continue its focus on product innovation. Over the last 12 months, the company has released several industry firsts, including a Legal-Grade™ chatbot for instant Q&A and automated redrafting, ‘Self-Serve’ functionality for non-legal teams to review and negotiate third-party contracts, and ‘Auto Mark-Up’, which allows users to bring any agreement in line with company standards in one click.

George Niño, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Yokogawa Corporation of America, said: “Luminance has been a game-changer for our business and surpasses other solutions available today. As a multinational corporation, we’re excited to see how Luminance’s expanding, on-the-ground presence further enhances our deep partnership.”

A Luminance source told Business Weekly: “We’re ready to be louder – there’s a lot more coming down the pike in the next 6-12 months from us in terms of new offices, hires and innovation.

“This next chapter is about deepening our commitment to trust, ensuring our existing US customers can continue to rely on our specialised, proprietary AI while also bringing a dependable solution to more organisations in the US – many of whom are dealing with a crowded, confusing market. We’re excited about what a growing on-the-ground presence can do that for that.”

Many of the company’s net new product features were born out of a rich, collaborative dialogue with customers, and consistent listening for gaps in the market – hence a long list of product firsts.

CEO Eleanor Lightbody says early influences shaped her for a legal AI leadership role. She grew up in a family with lawyers – and absorbed the influences from an early age – notably becoming familiarised with myriad issues plaguing the legal profession.

This experience gave her valuable insight into how AI could later be applied to address those issues, making her uniquely positioned to helm Luminance and enter the field of legal AI.

Lightbody was one of the first 50 employees at Darktrace, the Cambridge-anchored cyber security specialist that has just made a successful exit at $5.3 billion. She set up and ran the company’s African operations before becoming head of the Industrial division

Now she is spearheading what, in Luminance, has the potential to be another of the biggest AI companies the UK has ever produced and is a rare beast in a land of tech unicorns – a woman CEO with a 50 per cent female management team.