From Diverse Paths to a Unified Vision: The Birth of Lexi
Harshit Garg and Kiran Mohan, both computer science engineering graduates from the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD), embarked on divergent career trajectories after their studies. Garg pursued postgraduate legal studies in Melbourne, eventually qualifying as a barrister, while Mohan remained in Singapore to build a career as a software engineer. Their reunion in Singapore in 2025 sparked a pivotal conversation that revealed a significant gap in the global legal industry: the slow adoption of artificial intelligence compared to other sectors. This insight became the catalyst for Lexi, a pioneering legal-tech startup that has since captured the attention of the prestigious international accelerator, Y Combinator, securing its initial funding round and marking a milestone as the first Indian legal-tech company to receive such backing.
Identifying a Critical Need in Legal Services
Extensive research conducted by the founders involved in-depth discussions with approximately 200 lawyers and law firms across India, Australia, and Singapore. In India, consultations spanned practitioners from district courts to the Supreme Court. The findings were stark: a majority of legal services were still executed manually, with many lawyers expressing frustration over the time-consuming nature of drafting documents, which hindered their ability to take on new cases or clients. Mohan, serving as co-founder and CTO, emphasized that these processes were ripe for automation, with AI offering a comprehensive solution to streamline workflows and enhance efficiency.
Leveraging Expertise and Experience
The duo's academic specialization in AI during their university years, combined with their professional backgrounds, proved invaluable. Prior to his legal studies, Garg had founded an online ticket-booking platform, while Mohan led a team focused on blockchain infrastructure, security products, and scaling AI applications at a Singapore-based firm. In June 2025, they made the bold decision to leave their jobs and return to India to launch Lexi—a name derived from the Latin word for law. Garg, hailing from a family with two generations of lawyers in Punjab, took charge of legal aspects, while Mohan, from Chennai, managed the technological development.
Securing Funding and Scaling Operations
The startup's journey to Y Combinator was a rigorous one, requiring a convincing 10-minute online pitch that ultimately succeeded, resulting in a $0.5 million seed investment. Today, Lexi is headquartered in Chennai with operational footprints in India, Singapore, and San Francisco. The platform has onboarded more than 100 law firms and lawyers, collectively handling over 7,000 cases. In the past six months, the company has raised an additional $0.5 million from various sources, including venture capital firms, with plans to secure a further $2 million this year to expand product development and sales efforts.
Unique Selling Proposition in a Crowded AI Landscape
In an era saturated with AI tools, many of which are open-access, Lexi distinguishes itself by offering AI-powered legal associates designed to replicate the capabilities of human teams in law firms. These associates assist with contract review, case law research, and document drafting around the clock. Mohan highlighted the platform's unwavering commitment to privacy: all documents are protected with end-to-end encryption, accessible only to the lawyer, and customer data is never used to train AI models, ensuring confidentiality and trust.
Transforming Legal Drafting and Future Aspirations
Garg illustrated the platform's impact with examples such as rental agreements, which traditionally take hours to days to draft manually but can now be generated in under two minutes. This efficiency extends to notices, affidavits, and other legal documents. Lexi's AI models are tailored to the legal systems of India, Singapore, and the US, incorporating vast databases of court judgments for quick reference. Looking ahead, the company aims to deepen its capabilities throughout the case lifecycle, evolving from research and drafting to managing cases end-to-end, thereby revolutionizing how legal professionals operate.
