Justin Kan wants to change the legal industry, and has gathered a team together to do just that. According to sources his newest startup, called Atrium LTS, is looking to raise $10 million for its initial round of funding.
As the eponymous founder of Justin.tv, Kan has had a fair amount of success over the last few years. While Justin.tv wasn’t a huge hit as a life-casting or live-streaming platform, it ended up spawning Twitch, which sold to Amazon for just under $1 billion. He’s also been a prolific angel investor, which includes investments in Cruise Automation, which sold to GM for more than $1 billion.
More recently, Kan announced plans for a new incubator, called Zero-F. He clearly has a lot going on, but sources say Kan will be leading Atrium as CEO.
Kan himself has never worked in the legal industry, but as a serial entrepreneur he’s been a customer of legal services over the years. He’s also surrounding himself with others who have worked in the industry and created startups to change it.
Key among the team is Orrick startup lawyer Augie Rakow, who is well connected in the tech space due to a number of high-profile companies he’s worked for, as well as a monthly founder meetup he organizes. Joining them also is BeBe Chueh, who was the founder of a company called AttorneyFee, which sold to LegalZoom a couple of years ago.
On the technical side of things Kan has recruited Chris Smoak, who was an early AWS employee, Y Combinator alum and founder of a company called Gambit Labs, as the company’s CTO. Rounding out the team is Nick Cortes, who is also working with Kan on his Zero-F incubator and handling operations for the group.
Atrium is seeking to raise a total of $10 million, and sources tell us General Catalyst has committed to leading the round. In addition to rounding out its financing with other VCs, Atrium is also looking to get buy-in from some tech companies as strategic investors and potential clients.
Kan and General Catalyst declined to comment on the financing, of course. We’re hoping to learn more once Atrium is a further along and the team is more willing to talk about what they’re building and how exactly they’re looking to tackle the legal industry.