This year, Fuse has chosen nine companies to join its client- nominated stream under the theme of ‘Transformation and Resilience.’. Each of these companies brings a specific solution that will help businesses mitigate risk and/or take advantage of opportunities in an ever-changing landscape. This stream is made up of companies that specialize in artificial intelligence, sustainability, and digital assets, and will enable A&O Shearman’s attorneys to deepen their understanding of the macro-level challenges, strategies, and priorities that are facing its clients.
Speaking about the theme of Fuse Cohort 9, A&O Shearman partner and head of Fuse Shruti Ajitsaria said: “The theme of Transformation and Resilience for our client nominated stream is a new one for us. Transformation and Resilience felt to me to be the perfect theme in this world in which everything is changing all of the time. For our clients, the quickly evolving geopolitical landscape, the impact of technology and how they intersect, presents many risks but is also providing a lot of opportunities.”
The application process for this year’s LegalTech stream was the most competitive to date, with 272 applications received from 46 countries—a record for Fuse. Notably, 65% of applicants were based outside the U.K., and for the first time, more applications were received from U.S. companies than from U.K. companies, underscoring Fuse’s growing global reach and reputation.
Fuse’s LegalTech stream features companies developing innovative products that address specific pain points identified by A&O Shearman’s lawyers. These companies are tackling a wide range of issues including digital identity, AI-powered productivity tools for disputes lawyers, novel pricing models, advanced redaction solutions, and measures to safeguard data privacy.
Speaking about the Fuse program, Shruti Ajitsaria said: “For as long as I can remember, A&O Shearman has believed strongly in innovation, but that doesn't come easily. You have to be prepared to take risks, prepared to try new things. You can't really do that unless you have a safe place and a structure around it. For LegalTech innovation, Fuse is that place.”
Of special note, two companies in this year’s cohort, chosen in collaboration with the firm’s finance, IT and business development teams, join a new Operational Excellence stream, focused on A&O Shearman’s internal business operations, seeking to strengthen the firm’s overall service offering.
The companies in Cohort 9 reflect the evolving priorities of our clients in a highly competitive global environment. Those companies are:
Transformation and resilience:
- AutogenAI uses advanced generative AI to help proposal teams draft faster, boost productivity, and win more bids.
- ClearToken builds financial infrastructure for digital assets, offering 24/7 central clearing and settlement to reduce counterparty risk.
- CUR8 is a carbon removal platform enabling organizations to plan, buy, and manage carbon strategies for lasting sustainability impact.
- DFNS provides an API-first platform for secure, scalable digital asset management, powering over 150 financial applications globally.
- Fiùtur tracks sustainability performance of transitioning assets, tokenizing and sharing verified data to unlock value and combat greenwashing.
- Innerworks protects financial platforms with adaptive security, detecting and blocking hackers, fraudsters, and sanctioned actors—even under new identities.
- Kaiko delivers institutional-grade digital asset data and compliance solutions, powering blockchain-based financial use cases worldwide.
- Kaleido offers a digital assets and blockchain platform for regulated financial services, supporting complex, high-stakes global initiatives.
- Ubyx transforms stablecoins into digital cash equivalents, enabling seamless, regulated redemption while preserving decentralization and peer-to-peer payments.
LegalTech:
- AOS Engage is an intrapreneur team, which that streamlines multi-jurisdictional project management, centralizing coordination, fee quotes, and document handling for legal teams.
- Cleardox Redact is a semi-automated tool that streamlines anonymization and bulk redaction of sensitive data in large documents.
- Crimson automates case management for litigators, organizing files, analyzing information, and drafting documents throughout the dispute lifecycle.
- FairPatterns eliminates manipulative online interfaces, empowering users to make informed choices and avoid unwanted purchases or data sharing.
- Hence AI’s platform turns geopolitical, legal, and technological risks into competitive advantages through monitoring, alerts, and actionable insights.
- Jigsaw is a professional tool for creating, updating, and managing complex business diagrams and their underlying data efficiently.
- Mary extracts and organizes key facts from client documents, accelerating legal tasks and improving case insights for lawyers.
- OneID provides real-time, document-free digital identity verification using bank-verified data, ensuring speed, simplicity, and compliance.
- Sideline lets lawyers track and redline changes in Outlook emails, streamlining feedback, collaboration, and learning.
- Virtual Pricing Director helps lawyers create accurate, competitive pricing proposals, improving communication, tracking performance, and reducing write-offs.
Operational excellence:
- Index delivers AI-powered data management for professional firms, enhancing business intelligence and development at reduced cost.
- Syntracts transforms contracts into actionable insights on-premises, ensuring privacy, accuracy, and predictable costs without third-party dependencies.
Since its inception, Fuse has supported nearly 80 businesses, contributing to advances in contract automation, AI, data privacy, blockchain, and regulatory compliance. An impressive 98.6% of companies that have participated in Fuse are still operating or have been acquired/merged, demonstrating the program’s success selecting and supporting successful businesses. In total, these companies have raised around USD1 billion in funding since participating in Fuse.
Fuse Cohort 9 exemplifies A&O Shearman’s commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration, and forward-thinking solutions for clients and the legal industry. Fuse continues to serve as a catalyst for progress and a hub for the exchange of ideas.
For more information about Fuse Cohort 9 and the participating companies, please contact:
clemency.wells@allenovery.com or leon.lazaroff@shearman.com
