Qualcomm Invests in SpotDraft to Enhance On-Device Contract AI, Valuation Reaches $400M
Image Credits:SpotDraft
SpotDraft Secures $8 Million to Enhance Privacy-First AI Solutions
As organizations increasingly prioritize privacy-first enterprise AI solutions that can operate without transmitting sensitive data to the cloud, SpotDraft has successfully raised $8 million from Qualcomm Ventures. This funding marks a strategic extension of its Series B round, aimed at scaling its on-device contract review technology tailored for regulated legal workflows.
With this latest investment, SpotDraft’s valuation has surged to approximately $380 million, nearly doubling from its previous post-money valuation of $190 million following a $56 million Series B round completed in February of last year.
Overcoming Barriers to Adoption in Regulated Sectors
Across various regulated industries, such as finance and healthcare, the interest in generative AI is escalating. However, concerns surrounding privacy, security, and data governance have posed challenges to the widespread adoption of these technologies, particularly for sensitive workflows in legal settings. Legal documents often contain privileged information, intellectual property, pricing structures, and deal terms, making data security a critical consideration.
Research consistently highlights data security and privacy as top hurdles preventing broader deployment of generative AI within professional services. This has led companies like SpotDraft to adopt architectures that ensure core contract intelligence remains on the user’s device, circumventing the need to route information through cloud systems.
Innovative Demonstration at Snapdragon Summit 2025
At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit 2025, SpotDraft showcased its innovative VerifAI workflow. This technology operates entirely on Snapdragon X Elite-powered laptops, enabling contract review and edits to be conducted offline. This approach maintains document integrity by ensuring it stays on the local machine. However, SpotDraft notes that while internet connectivity is necessary for initial login, licensing, and collaboration features, essential tasks such as contract review, risk scoring, and redlining can be performed offline without cloud interaction.
SpotDraft views the legal sector as an ideal testing ground for on-device enterprise AI capabilities. The company’s founders assert that sensitive contracts often cannot be processed through external cloud models due to stringent privacy, security, and compliance requirements.
Insights from SpotDraft’s Leadership
“The future of enterprise AI demands that the AI is located close to the document,” emphasizes Shashank Bijapur, co-founder and CEO of SpotDraft. “[This is crucial for documents that are privacy-critical, latency-sensitive, and legally sensitive.]”
Furthermore, SpotDraft has designed VerifAI not solely for summarization purposes. The tool integrates seamlessly into Microsoft Word and applies playbooks and recommendations in the way legal teams traditionally operate. “VerifAI will compare a contract against your guidelines, playbooks, and prior policies,” explains Madhav Bhagat, co-founder and CTO of SpotDraft.
Demand for On-Device AI in Regulated Industries
Bijapur highlighted that the demand for on-device AI is particularly pronounced in heavily regulated industries, such as defense and pharmaceuticals. In these sectors, internal security protocols and data residency regulations often impede the use of cloud-based AI systems for sensitive documents.
According to Bhagat, on-device models have rapidly achieved performance levels comparable to, if not better than, cloud-based solutions in terms of output quality and response times. “Currently, the performance difference between the best cloud models and advanced on-device models is as little as 5%,” he noted, adding that newer chips have enabled speeds that are “one-third of what we achieve in the cloud.”
Growth and Adoption Metrics
Since its founding in 2017, SpotDraft has experienced robust growth, catering to over 700 customers—up from approximately 400 in February of last year. Notable clients include Apollo.io, Panasonic, Zeplin, and Whatfix. SpotDraft’s adoption rate for its contract lifecycle management platform has skyrocketed, with clients processing more than 1 million contracts annually and a 173% growth in contract volumes year-over-year. Nearly 50,000 users are now actively utilizing the platform monthly. The company is projecting a remarkable 100% year-over-year revenue growth in 2026, following exceptional growth rates of 169% in 2024 and similar figures in 2025, although specific revenue figures have yet to be disclosed.
Strategic Plans for Expansion
SpotDraft intends to utilize its newfound capital to enhance its product and AI capabilities, as well as to broaden its enterprise presence across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India. Bijapur notes that Qualcomm’s involvement will extend beyond financial support, encompassing joint development and go-to-market strategies for deploying on-device solutions. Currently, the on-device workflow is available to a select group of customers, with plans for broader expansion as compatible AI PC hardware becomes more widely available.
Based in Bengaluru and New York, SpotDraft boasts a workforce of over 300 employees, including 15 to 20 located in the U.S., where COO Akshay Verma is based, and four to five in the UK. The remainder of the team is situated in Bengaluru.
To date, SpotDraft has raised a cumulative $92 million, including its most recent investment from Qualcomm Ventures. Previous investors include Vertex Growth Singapore, Trident Growth Partners, Xeed VC, Arkam Ventures, and Prosus Ventures.
Conclusion
As demand for privacy-respecting AI solutions soars across regulated sectors, SpotDraft is uniquely positioned to lead the charge with its on-device contract review technology. Supported by a growing roster of clients and robust financial backing from Qualcomm Ventures, SpotDraft is set to redefine how legal teams leverage AI while maintaining strict adherence to privacy and security standards. The innovative capabilities of VerifAI not only serve existing needs but also set the stage for future advancements in enterprise AI, ensuring that sensitive workflows can be both efficient and secure.
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