Five years ago, Noah Waisberg sold Kira Systems, the pioneering AI contract-analysis company he co-founded, to Litera. Even though the deal itself went well, the experience of going through the sale was hard, Waisberg now says. But that experience provided the fuel that turned into his next business. As part of the sale, he kept a copy of the underlying Kira technology and about 30 of the company’s roughly 180 employees, and used them to launch Zuva.

Zuva started as an API-only company, but it has since turned its focus to the sell side of M&A. After interviewing some 200 dealmakers about the most painful parts of selling a business, Zuva built software to help sellers manage the flood of bidder questions. It also launched a tech-enabled diligence service that pairs Kira’s AI with experienced former Big Law associates. Zuva says the service delivers work product comparable to Big Law at a fraction of the cost.

Waisberg was last on LawNext in 2021, marking the 10th anniversary of Kira and the release of his book, AI for Lawyers. In today’s episode, he and host Bob Ambrogi discuss Zuva’s new direction and what the recent expiration of his post-sale restrictions means for the company. They recorded this conversation on the day Harvey announced its latest mega-funding round, so they also talk about the prospects for Harvey and Legora against the frontier labs, and why Waisberg recently remarked that we’ve hit “peak legal tech.” He also covers the limitations of today’s AI that he thinks the market underestimates, and why the billable hour remains the biggest obstacle to efficiency tech.

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Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.