kCura, one of Chicago's fastest-growing and well-known tech companies, has a new name.
The company announced today that it has changed its name to Relativity, which is the name of the company's legal software that's used by law firms, corporations and government clients.
Andrew Sieja, the company's founder and CEO, said the name change is about simplifying branding and putting the focus on its core product.
"The world knows us as Relativity; Chicago knows us as kCura," he said. "It made sense to focus on one brand."
kCura launched in 2001 as a tech and software consultancy, and in 2004 a law firm hired kCura to craft a system for managing and reviewing legal documents. That project became the basis for Relativity, and in 2007 the company pivoted away from consulting and focused entirely on its e-discovery software (e-discovery is the process of finding and using electronic data that's used as evidence in a legal case).
The company's software caught on quickly throughout the industry. Today, Relativity is used by the U.S. Department of Justice, more than 70 of the Fortune 100, and nearly all of the top 200 law firms in the U.S. Relativity allows organizations to manage large volumes of data and quickly identify key issues during litigation. Companies also use the software for internal investigations and compliance projects.
In 2015, the company raised $125 million from Iconiq Capital, the only outside investment the firm as taken.
Sieja declined to disclose revenue figures, but said the company has been adding employees at a rapid clip. Relativity plans to be at 800 employees by the end of the year, which is almost double the headcount from what it had in 2014. At the beginning of this year, the company said it planned to hire 200 new people by 2018. Most of its employees are in Chicago, and it has additional offices in London and Poland.
There have been talks about a potential IPO for Relativity, especially after the company hired Jason Ream as its chief financial officer in 2016. Ream was previously the CFO at SolarWinds and led the company through its successful IPO.
But when asked about a possible IPO, Sieja says the company has "no plans" to go public right now.
