vLex
Established: 2000
Country: Spain
Region: Cataluna
Investors: Oakley Capital
In just three years, Oakley Capital supported portfolio company vLex to transform from a Spanish legal software business into a global innovator that is helping to shape the future of law. Key achievements include establishing a significant market presence in the US, completing a transformative acquisition, and then pivoting vLex’s entire business model through the launch of a transformational AI tool, ‘Vincent’. Vincent allows lawyers to ask complex legal questions in natural language and receive a well-constructed answer backed by a complete list of sources and precedents.
Today, lawyers use Vincent to prepare cases faster, generate comprehensive arguments, and test multiple legal strategies for different jurisdictions. In June 2025, Oakley Capital announced the sale of vLex to Clio, a global leader in legal technology headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The transaction values vLex at US$1 billion, making vLex one of the few Spanish technology start-ups to reach unicorn status. The transaction resulted in gross returns of >6x Gross MM and >85% Gross IRR for Origin I, Oakley’s lower mid-market fund.
Lluís Faus
CEO and Co-Founder - vLEX
From establishing a significant market presence in the US to completing a transformative acquisition, and then launching a transformational AI tool, we’re grateful for the support Oakley has shown us every step of the way.
25%
year-on-year revenue growth
95%
recurring revenues
c.30%
share of total business generated by the AI product 18 months after launch
Key achievements
Strategic M&A: acquisition of US peer Fastcase to expand reach into small and medium-sized law firms and to diversify product offering
Pivoting the entire business model to an AI-powered proposition: vLex’s enormous legal database, comprising over one billion legal documents from more than 100 countries, formed the foundation of vLex’s revolutionary AI product ‘Vincent’, which launched in 2024
Strengthening vLex’s management team both vertically in terms of seniority — key hires include a new CFO and CCO, a Head of US Enterprise, and a Head of R&D — and horizontally, by investing in vLex’s US go-to-market (‘GTM’) proposition
Cracking the enterprise markets in the US (typically large-purchase, long-term software contracts) and winning the largest law firms there. Organic revenues from large US law firms almost doubled in 2024, making this the fastest-growing segment for vLex. Today, the company serves the majority of the Am Law 100, a ranking of the largest law firms in America.
Investors
