DoNotPay’s company description is that of a “robot lawyer” trying to “beat bureaucracy,” and the company just more than doubled its valuation to approximately $210 million after a round of investments, Bloomberg reported.
DoNotPay, founded in 2015, offers automated letters to help secure free bank refunds, canceling subscriptions and suing telemarketers, according to Bloomberg. CEO Joshua Browder said the company plans to use its new funding to expand its business offering to include small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
That comes after the company defeated a class action earlier this year, Bloomberg reported. Browder said the company has the power to make sure companies are complying with some regulations like displaying the appropriate disclaimers on their websites, along with protecting intellectual property via trademarks.
He told Bloomberg the company realized that “businesses are being shaken down all the time,” and made reference to the expensive billable hours that can be harmful to SMBs or individuals as why the company had been formed. The idea behind the company is to make legal support more accessible for the average person.
“The legal system shouldn’t be pay-to-play,” he said, per Bloomberg. “We’re trying to be a general counsel for all, similar to the way Intuit is leaned on as a tax adviser. We want to stop people from being ripped off and give them leverage.”
He added that there have also been a number of new federal and state regulations which have helped the company, Bloomberg reported. In Florida, robocallers have been banned from making contact without written consent. And one of DoNotPay’s products is called “Robo Revenge,” which Browder called a “honey trap” that allows users to access credit card information that, when a telemarketer processes it, can be used to get their details and sue them.
The company got $10 million from Andreessen Horowitz, Lux Capital, Tribe Capital, Day One Ventures and Felicis Ventures, according to Bloomberg. Other investors included billionaire FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried, former Coinbase Chief Technology Officer Balaji Srinivasan and UiPath CEO Daniel Dines. Yuri Milner’s investment firm, DST Global, participated as well.
PYMNTS reported in May that DoNotPay has plans to break into the crypto space. The company has several products designed to ask crypto exchanges to unfreeze funds, track funds stolen in hacks and report pump-and-dump schemes. It can also track airdrops and file exchange disputes.
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