Qualcomm Investment Fuels SpotDraft’s AI Contract Tech, Valuation Nears $400M

As demand increases for privacy-focused enterprise AI that operates without transferring sensitive data to the cloud, SpotDraft has secured $8 million from Qualcomm Ventures in a strategic Series B extension to expand its on-device contract review technology for regulated legal processes.

This funding round values SpotDraft at approximately $380 million, according to the startup's disclosure to TechCrunch, nearly doubling its $190 million post-money valuation after last February's $56 million Series B round.

Businesses in regulated industries are rapidly experimenting with generative AI, yet privacy, security, and data governance issues continue to hinder its adoption for sensitive operations—particularly in legal work, where contracts may contain confidential information, intellectual property, pricing details, and deal terms. Market studies consistently identify data security and privacy as major obstacles to broader generative AI implementation in professional services, motivating providers like SpotDraft to develop systems that maintain core contract intelligence locally rather than processing it through cloud networks.

During Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit 2025, SpotDraft showcased its VerifAI workflow operating entirely on Snapdragon X Elite laptops, performing contract analysis and revisions offline while storing documents locally. The company clarified that internet access remains necessary for login, license verification, and collaboration tools, but contract assessment, risk evaluation, and markup functions can operate completely offline without cloud transmission.

SpotDraft considers legal services an initial testing ground for on-device enterprise AI, noting that sensitive contracts frequently cannot be processed through external cloud models due to privacy, security, and regulatory requirements.

"The evolution of enterprise AI necessitates systems that operate near documents where privacy, latency, and legal sensitivity are crucial—these are precisely the functions transitioning to local devices," explained Shashank Bijapur (shown above, left), SpotDraft's co-founder and CEO, during an interview.

SpotDraft emphasizes that VerifAI's on-device functionality goes beyond basic summarization, with the tool engineered to implement guidelines and suggestions directly within Microsoft Word, matching legal teams' existing workflows. "VerifAI analyzes contracts against your established guidelines, procedural playbooks, and previous policies," stated Madhav Bhagat (shown above, right), co-founder and CTO of SpotDraft.

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Bijapur informed TechCrunch that demand for on-device AI is becoming particularly evident in highly regulated fields such as defense and pharmaceuticals, where internal security assessments and data location regulations often delay or prevent the use of cloud-based AI for confidential documents.

On-device AI models have substantially narrowed the performance gap with cloud-based systems in both output quality and processing speed, noted Bhagat. "We've reached a point where evaluation results show only about 5% difference between leading cloud models and specially optimized on-device versions," he commented, adding that newer chips deliver response times "approximately one-third of cloud-based processing speeds."

Since its establishment in 2017, SpotDraft has expanded its client base to over 700 customers—up from roughly 400 in February last year—including Apollo.io, Panasonic, Zeplin, and Whatfix. The company reported growing adoption of its contract lifecycle management platform, with clients now handling more than 1 million contracts annually, representing 173% year-over-year volume growth, and nearly 50,000 monthly active users. SpotDraft anticipates 100% year-over-year revenue growth for 2026, following 169% growth in 2024 and comparable expansion in 2025, though specific revenue numbers were not disclosed.

SpotDraft intends to deploy the new funding to enhance its product and AI features while expanding its enterprise market reach across the Americas, EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa), and India, Bijapur stated. He added that Qualcomm's participation extends beyond financial backing to include collaborative development and market expansion initiatives for on-device implementations. The startup's on-device workflow is currently accessible to select customers, with broader availability expected as compatible AI PC hardware becomes more prevalent.

"SpotDraft's capacity to securely implement their proprietary models on-device using Snapdragon platforms marks significant progress for privacy-sensitive industries," remarked Quinn Li, Senior Vice President of Qualcomm Technologies and Global Head of Qualcomm Ventures.

The Bengaluru and New York-based company reported having over 300 employees, including 15–20 in the United States where COO Akshay Verma is located, four to five in the UK, with the remaining workforce based in Bengaluru.

To date, the startup has collected $92 million in total funding, including the recent Qualcomm Ventures injection. Previous investors include Vertex Growth Singapore, Trident Growth Partners, Xeed VC, Arkam Ventures, and Prosus Ventures.