When you think of artificial intelligence disrupting the legal industry, you probably imagine tools that help lawyers work faster — AI-powered document review, contract analysis, or case law research. But one Y Combinator alum is taking a radically different approach: instead of selling AI to law firms, they are becoming the law firm itself.
Meet Moritz: The AI Law Firm
Moritz, founded by Pamir Ehsas, recently raised $9 million in a round that closed in just four days after completing Y Combinator’s spring 2026 batch. Backed by 20VC, Urban Innovation Fund, and unicorn founders from Reddit, Instacart, Dropbox, Hugging Face, and Silo AI, the startup is on a mission to build “the world’s largest global law firm from scratch.”
The distinction matters. While competitors like Sweden’s Legora and US-based Harvey focus on making existing lawyers AI-native, Moritz is building a law firm where AI handles 80% of the work — from client intake through first drafts — with a network of 50+ contracted co-counsel lawyers finalizing the output.
A Strategy That Captures More Value
Moritz’s approach reflects a growing trend that high-profile VC firm General Catalyst calls “AI-enabled roll-ups” — where technology builders own and operate the traditional service businesses themselves rather than selling tools to incumbents. The thesis: owning the full stack captures more value than being a vendor.
Since launching in early 2026, Moritz has already supported over 100 companies with closing deals representing more than $2 billion in aggregate contract value across Europe, the US, and Australia — with an average turnaround time of just four hours.
Where AI Works — And Where It Doesn’t
Moritz is focusing on the most automatable areas of law: commercial, corporate, and employment work. The company is deliberately avoiding litigation, immigration, and tax — areas where human judgment and court appearances remain essential.
“This is just to help people close deals much faster. That type of work is just prone to automation,” Ehsas explains.
The company operates with a lean team of just seven engineers and operations staff, augmented by its contracted lawyer network. After setting up in the US and UK, Moritz is now expanding to Spain, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, and Sweden.
What This Means for Startups
For startup founders navigating legal work across multiple jurisdictions, Moritz represents a glimpse of the future — faster, cheaper, and more scalable legal services. The model suggests that the biggest AI opportunity in professional services isn’t augmenting existing firms, but building entirely new ones optimized for an AI-first world.
Source: Original reporting by Sifted. Read the full article here.
