Thomson Reuters strengthens Legal AI with Safe Sign Technologies acquisition
In a significant move that underscores the UK's leadership in artificial intelligence, Thomson Reuters has acquired Safe Sign Technologies, a UK-based startup specialising in the development of legal-specific large language models (LLMs).
Thomson Reuters is a global content and technology company, well-known for its specialised software and insights that support professionals across various sectors, including legal, tax, accounting, and compliance. The acquisition of Safe Sign Technologies aligns with its strategy to integrate advanced AI tools with its existing products, particularly in the legal domain.
Safe Sign Technologies, founded in 2022, has rapidly established itself as a key player in the field of legal AI. The startup has been developing proprietary legal LLMs designed to improve accuracy and performance in legal research and decision-making. The company’s team comprises experts from institutions such as Cambridge, MIT, and DeepMind.
"This acquisition marks another milestone on our journey to combine our trusted content and world-class domain experts with cutting-edge technology," said Joel Hron, Chief Technology Officer at Thomson Reuters. "We believe Safe Sign’s models have demonstrated industry-leading performance, and this acquisition will help us deliver greater quality and performance from our AI solutions."
The acquisition also reflects a strong vote of confidence in the UK's AI sector. The UK has been recognised as a global leader in AI research and development, particularly in the legal field. Thomson Reuters' investment in Safe Sign Technologies is a testament to the UK's continued leadership in this area.
"The academic and industry sectors of the UK have been leaders in the AI field for years, and this investment in Safe Sign Technologies is a big vote of confidence in that continued leadership," Hron added. "We have ambitious plans for investing in Safe Sign Technologies in the UK and growing our talent from the UK's data science community."
The Safe Sign Technologies team, led by founder and CEO Alexander Kardos-Nyheim, and Chief Scientist Dr. Jonathan Schwarz, will continue to operate under Thomson Reuters, working closely with the Thomson Reuters Labs team. Their focus will be on further developing legal-specific AI tools that can enhance the efficiency and accuracy of legal professionals worldwide.
"We believe Safe Sign Technologies has been at the cutting edge of legal AI research since 2022, achieving significant progress in our goal to create the world’s best proprietary legal LLM," stated Kardos-Nyheim and Dr. Schwarz. "Joining Thomson Reuters allows us to become a major scientific and industrial disruptor in legal AI."
