Brazilian AI for Judicial Processes Reaches $1.2 Billion Valuation

The Brazilian startup Enter reached a market valuation of $1.2 billion, equivalent to about R$ 6.16 billion, in May, consolidating itself as the first Artificial Intelligence unicorn in Latin America. Founded in 2023, the company offers specialized tools to assist companies dealing with legal matters.

Recently, Enter raised over $100 million (approximately R$ 514 million) in a new round of investment, with participation from Sequoia and Founders Fund, investors who already supported the company. This injection resulted in a threefold increase in Enter's valuation.

Legal Technology Features

Enter was conceived by Mateus Costa-Ribeiro and Henrique Vaz, starting its operations in the legal segment. Its technology has the capacity to intervene in various phases of a legal process, covering everything from filing lawsuits and analyzing jurisprudence to identifying fraud in documents and drafting procedural pieces.

Furthermore, the AI systems examine materials attached to cases, such as contracts, audio recordings, videos, and statements, searching for information relevant to the defense.

According to the company itself, Enter's technology provides greater efficiency throughout the entire judicial process cycle, covering everything from case registration and detection of documentary fraud to analysis of legal precedents and suggestion of drafts.

Enter also performs more than 30 checks to identify signs of abusive litigation. In the described operational model, artificial intelligence acts before human intervention; every document is processed by an AI agent before any person participates in the case.

Costa-Ribeiro commented to Bloomberg in May that 'every stage imaginable in a judicial process is first handled by an AI agent before a human enters.'

Enter's trajectory began after Costa-Ribeiro left one of the main law firms in New York to focus on technology. He reported on LinkedIn that this change involved giving up a stable position and a salary considerably higher than that of the new role.

Initial Development

The executive began collaborating with software engineers, learning programming and moving to Stanford. Together with two colleagues, he created a website where users could submit an initial petition in PDF format and receive a suggested defense via email.

He recalls: 'It was September 2023, and I had no idea that that ugly Google Form—the first interface of Enter's product—would turn into the greatest adventure of self-knowledge and growth of my life.'

This initial prototype gave rise to Enter, which in less than two years reached a valuation of $1.2 billion. The news about the Brazilian AI for judicial processes was initially published in Olhar Digital.

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olhardigital.com.brAugust 13, 23:38

Study indicates AI could add nearly R$ 1 trillion to Brazilian GDP by 2030

The implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to add up to R$ 986.7 billion to Brazil's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) between 2027 and 2030, according to a study conducted by Reglab at the request of OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.

This survey assessed the potential impact of the technology on twelve crucial segments of the national economy. The projected amount, already converted to current values and adjusted by the Selic rate of 13% per year, is equivalent to about 7.6% of the GDP forecast for 2026, which is R$ 12.9 trillion.

According to the researchers, AI can generate an accumulated impact equivalent to 2.77% of the GDP over these four years, promoting an average annual growth of 0.69 percentage points in the technology-related economy.

Factors for realizing gains

The study's authors emphasize that these benefits will not materialize immediately. The realization of this potential is directly linked to how quickly companies, workers, and government agencies incorporate new technological tools.

Among the sectors examined, manufacturing industries showed the greatest potential for gain, with an estimate of R$ 264.2 billion between 2027 and 2030 for activities that convert raw materials and inputs into new products. This was followed by service activities, with R$ 165.4 billion, and the commerce sector, which reached R$ 131.2 billion.

The study segments the effects of AI into two main avenues: the increase in employee productivity and the increase in the efficiency of machinery, equipment, and production structures. In the modeled scenario, 65% of the total impact comes from increased labor productivity, while the remaining 35% is attributed to greater capital efficiency.

Sectoral variations in AI impact

This proportion of impacts varies considerably depending on the nature of the economic activity. For example, in agriculture, 92% of the effect would be absorbed by capital. This sector could accumulate R$ 48.2 billion in gains, driven mainly by the integration of AI into infrastructure, machines, and productive equipment.

In contrast, in areas with a high concentration of cognitive tasks, the effect on worker productivity would be most prominent. In finance, for example, 87% of the estimated impact would be linked to labor, being the highest percentage among the twelve analyzed sectors. Banks, insurance companies, and investment managers could apply AI in functions such as claims classification, risk assessment, customer service, and document review.

In the information and communication segment, which includes telecommunications companies, data centers, and software developers, the projected impact reaches R$ 49.3 billion, with 97% of the effect related to the labor factor. One cited example is the administrative assistant, whose repetitive and codifiable tasks, such as data entry, schedule reconciliation, and document classification, would be most prone to automation.

On the other hand, a software engineer could use AI to streamline processes, such as documentation generation and code correction, while maintaining activities that require judgment, coordination, and project definition under professional responsibility.

Challenges and recommendations for Brazil

Despite the quantified potential, the research points out that the adoption of AI in Brazil tends to be more gradual compared to more developed economies. Factors such as disparities among companies, the high cost of credit, deficiencies in professional qualification, and infrastructure restrictions were highlighted.

The projections indicate that, by 2030, 66.6% of the potential gains linked to increased labor productivity and 62.4% of the gains associated with more efficient structures and equipment would have been achieved.

It is important to note that the R$ 986.7 billion represents an estimated potential, not a guarantee of growth; its realization depends on the speed of technology adoption and the country's regulatory, educational, and institutional conditions.

The study suggests several actions for Brazil to convert this potential into real economic benefits. Among them are the retraining of professionals in roles susceptible to replacement, the expansion of rural digital infrastructure, and the creation of incentives for less productive companies to implement AI.

The authors also advocate for the establishment of a stable regulatory framework, governance policies, the use of open data, and the application of technology in public services. It is concluded that the realization of these gains depends not only on technological advancement but also on the ability to establish a favorable institutional, regulatory, and educational environment for its broad and productive dissemination.