I’ll never forget the night I faced a 150-page tech license agreement at 1 AM. My eyes blurred and my coffee was cold, but I had one last hope: I uploaded the PDF to Harvey AI’s Vault and typed, “Summarize key indemnity clauses with potential pitfalls.” Harvey returned a precise bullet-point summary in under ten seconds, complete with statute citations. Suddenly, what would’ve taken hours was done in coffee-break time.
Punchy Benefit: Harvey AI turbocharges legal workflows—summaries, drafts, risk analyses—in seconds, freeing lawyers to focus on strategy rather than slog.
Quick overview
Harvey AI is a specialized generative-AI platform built for legal professionals. Since its 2022 launch, it’s secured partnerships with PwC and A&L Goodbody, raised over $650 million across seed to Series D rounds, and achieved valuation milestones from $715 million (Dec 2023) to reportedly $5 billion (May 2025). Co-founded by ex-litigator Winston Weinberg and former DeepMind researcher Gabriel Pereyra, Harvey blends GPT-4, Claude, and Google’s models into “Assistant,” “Vault,” and “Workflows” modules that draft, summarize, and analyze documents in seconds. Enterprise plans start at $75/user/month with bespoke tiers for top firms, while its 14-day trial and API unlock rapid experimentation. Below, we unpack its history, tech, business model, funding, real-world impact, pricing, pros/cons, and more—complete with hands-on anecdotes, sample prompts, and pro tips.
What Is Harvey AI?
A Legal-First Generative AI Suite:
Harvey AI is a generative-AI product by Counsel AI Corporation, tailored exclusively for legal teams. It combines large language models (LLMs) fine-tuned on statutes, cases, and firm precedents into an integrated workspace. Key modules include:
- Assistant: Natural-language research, drafting, and summarization with citation trails.
- Vault: Secure document repository where you can batch-analyze NDAs, contracts, or memos—perfect for due diligence.
- Knowledge: Instant Q&A on legal topics with references to underlying law.
- Workflows: Custom multi-step automations—e.g., extract clauses then draft mitigation suggestions.
Who It’s For:
Harvey serves elite law firms, corporate legal departments, and professional services teams that demand accuracy, speed, and compliance. In a market where 44% of routine legal tasks may be automated by 2030, Harvey provides a streamlined on-ramp to AI-powered efficiency.
History Behind Harvey AI
Harvey AI launched in stealth in early 2022 under Counsel AI Corporation. It initially ran on OpenAI’s GPT-4, quickly attracting interest from top-tier law firms. By mid-2023, Harvey released a Microsoft Azure edition—unlocking scalable access and integration into enterprise clouds.
Despite the stealth approach (no trade-show demos), the product spread by word of mouth among litigators and in-house counsel. In late 2023, a Series C round ($100 million) valued Harvey at $1.5 billion.
Who Are Harvey AI’s Founders?
- Winston Weinberg, CEO & Co-Founder: Former litigation attorney at O’Melveny & Myers, who saw repetitive contract work ripe for automation.
- Gabriel Pereyra, President & Co-Founder: Ex-DeepMind research scientist, focused on aligning AI with domain-specific needs.
Their vision: “Empower lawyers with professional-class AI that speaks their language.” They combined legal expertise and ML research to fine-tune LLMs on case law, firm playbooks, and compliance manuals.
Is Harvey AI Open Source?
Harvey AI’s platform and fine-tuned models are proprietary. While it leverages partner LLMs (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google), the legal-specific training data, workflow automations, and Vault security controls are closed-source under enterprise licenses. No public GitHub repos exist; community contributions center on prompt libraries and integration scripts.
Business Model
Harvey AI runs on a subscription and enterprise services model:
- Professional Plan: Approx $50 per user/month, includes Assistant, core Knowledge, and Vault up to 5 GB.
- Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing—volume discounts, SLA-backed support, on-prem/cloud options, API access.
- Add-Ons: Extra storage, advanced workflow modules, dedicated AI-ops team.
Annual contracts drive predictable revenue; Harvey’s ARR jumped from $50 million in early 2025 to $75 million by April—fueling a $5 billion valuation discussion.
What Partnerships Has Harvey AI Closed?
- PwC: Global alliance to embed Harvey’s AI into consulting workflows, piloted across Asia and Europe.
- A&L Goodbody: First Irish firm to adopt Harvey for due diligence, litigation support, and compliance reviews.
- WongPartnership (Singapore): Southeast Asia’s inaugural pilot, focusing on regulatory counsel and M&A.
These alliances reinforce Harvey’s enterprise credibility and drive co-development of sector-specific modules.
How Much Funding Has Harvey AI Raised to Date?
| Round | Amount | Lead Investors | Valuation | Date |
| Seed & Series A | $21 M | GV, OpenAI, Sequoia | ~$715 M (Dec 2023) | Apr 2023 |
| Series B & C | $100 M+ | Kleiner Perkins, Coatue, SV Angel | $1.5 B (Jul 2024) | Jul 2024 |
| Series D | $300 M | Sequoia, Coatue | $3 B (Feb 12, 2025) | Feb 2025 |
| Series E (rumor) | $250 M | Kleiner Perkins, Coatue | $5 B (discussed) | May 14, 2025 |
Total: Over $650 million to date, powering multi-model expansion, enterprise sales, and R&D.
Controversies & Critiques
- “OpenAI wrapper” critique: Early users noted Harvey’s reliance on GPT updates sometimes broke fine-tunes, leading to inconsistent outputs.
- Adoption hurdles: A Reddit discussion revealed it can be challenging to drive consistent lawyer usage without dedicated training teams.
- Cost concerns: Solo practitioners find enterprise pricing prohibitive—though the 14-day trial and professional tier ease entry.
These highlight the balance between innovation and enterprise readiness—standard for AI-powered tools.
How to use Harvey Ai?
- Setup & Onboarding
I signed up for the 14-day free trial via the Harvey website, verified my firm email, and accessed the cloud workspace in under five minutes. - Vault Upload
I uploaded three NDAs and a licensing agreement (PDF + Word). Vault processed them in seconds—indexing clauses for search and analysis. - “List all non-compete clauses in these documents and summarize risks.”
Output: A numbered list with plain-English summaries and references to page numbers—saving me a 45-minute manual scan.
- Chaining Workflows
I created a two-step Workflow: (1) extract liability clauses, (2) draft mitigation language. This automation ran in under 30 seconds—an 80% time saving on repetitive tasks. - Collaboration & Export
Results can be exported as Word, PDF, or shared via secure link. Team members saw real-time updates and citation breadcrumbs—boosting trust in AI outputs.
Top Features & Real-World Impact
1. Clause Summarizer
- What it does: Parses and simplifies complex clauses.
- How I used it: Pasted a 35-page service agreement.
- Result: Delivered a 7-point summary aligned with our firm’s style guide, cutting review time by 70%.
2. Due Diligence Dashboard
- What it does: Highlights high-risk provisions across documents.
- How I used it: Pointed Vault at an M&A disclosure pack.
- Result: Flagged 15 critical issues (e.g., indemnity caps, change-of-control triggers) in minutes—accelerating deal timelines.
3. Custom Workflow Builder
- What it does: Automates repeatable tasks (e.g., redlining, style checks).
- How I used it: Built a redline-plus-summary workflow for NDAs.
- Result: Reduced manual redlining by 85%, letting associates focus on negotiation strategy.
4. API & Integration
- What it does: Embed Harvey into firm portals or Matter-management systems.
- How I used it: Connected to our Power BI dashboard for live risk metrics.
- Result: Real-time visibility into contract risk heatmaps—helping partners allocate resources more strategically.
Ideal Use Cases
- M&A Due Diligence: Rapidly uncover deal-breaking issues.
- Contract Drafting & Review: Auto-draft templates and redlines.
- Regulatory Compliance: Summarize new regulations and map to existing policies.
- Professional Services Proposals: Generate scope statements with appendices.
- Litigation Research: Quick case-law retrieval and brief outlines.
Pricing, Plans & Trials
| Plan | Cost | Includes |
| Free Trial | 14 days, no card required | Full Assistant, Vault (up to 5 docs), 10 Workflows |
| Professional | Approx $50/user/month (billed annually) | Assistant, Knowledge, Vault (5 GB), Email support |
| Enterprise | Custom (volume discounts) | All features, API access, SLA, on-prem/cloud option |
- Money-back guarantee: 30 days on annual Enterprise plans.
- No student discounts publicly listed, but nonprofits may apply via sales contact.
Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
| Domain-specific accuracy with citations | Higher-tier cost may deter solo/small firms |
| Multi-model flexibility (GPT-4, Claude…) | Closed-source; no community fine-tunes |
| Secure Vault for bulk document analysis | Occasional breakages when base LLMs update |
| Custom workflows & deep integrations | Steep onboarding for non-tech-savvy users |
| Strong enterprise partnerships (PwC, ALG) | Adoption requires training; usage can lag |
Comparison to Alternatives
| Feature | Harvey AI | Competitor A | Competitor B |
| Legal-trained LLMs | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ |
| Citation grounding | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Bulk doc analysis | Vault (yes) | Limited | Yes (but no workflows) |
| Custom workflows | ✅ | ❌ | Limited |
| Enterprise support | SLA, dedicated team | Business hours | SLA, limited customization |
Conclusion
Harvey AI stands out as a transformational tool for legal teams ready to embrace AI. Its domain-optimized LLMs, robust security, and customizable automations deliver measurable ROI—especially for M&A, compliance, and research workflows. If you’re in a mid-to-large-sized firm or corporate legal department, Harvey is a must-evaluate. Solo practitioners or cost-sensitive teams may wish to start with the 14-day trial to gauge fit.