San Francisco-based e-signature giant Docusign Inc. (Nasdaq: DOCU) is acquiring Lexion, a legal tech company headquartered in Seattle, for $165 million in cash.
Docusign is making the acquisition to bolster its contract management technology. Lexion raised a $20 million Series B round in April of last year, when the company had roughly 60 employees.
"We are thrilled to welcome Lexion to Docusign," Docusign CEO Allan Thygesen said in a news release. "We share a vision of smarter agreement management and our joint AI-powered innovation will deliver increased value."
A Docusign spokesperson said the company is still working on the transition plan and didn't disclose how many total employees Lexion has or whether they are all joining Docusign. The spokesperson also didn't say what will happen to the Lexion brand but noted Lexion's product will still be available to customers, and those customers will be able to access Docusign tools.
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Lexion co-founder and CEO Gaurav Oberoi is joining Docusign as vice president of product management. Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Emad Elwany is joining Docusign as vice president of engineering, while co-founder and principal architect James Baird is joining as principal engineer.
Docusign said in the release Lexion brings "a team of world-class AI engineers with backgrounds at Amazon, Google, Meta and Microsoft."
Lexion spun out of the Allen Institute for AI in 2019. The company helps clients streamline the legal review process for contracts, for example quickly generating nondisclosure agreements to help with sales. Lexion also tracks the status of projects, and it plugs in with existing email and chat tools, such as Slack or Teams, so employees don't need to learn a new tool.
Lexion's clients include Brooks, OfferUp and Rad Power Bikes. Lexion has more than 110 employees listed on LinkedIn.
"Our shared vision with Docusign revolves around revolutionizing how agreements are created, managed and analyzed for organizations around the world," Oberoi said in a release.
Docusign, founded in 2003 in Seattle, allows clients to sign and manage agreements electronically. Its clients include Unilever and United Airlines. The company had 6,840 employees as of the end of January. Docusign generated $2.8 billion in revenue during its fiscal 2024, which ended Jan. 31, up 10% year over year. In February, the company disclosed it would lay off about 400 employees, adding to layoffs in 2022 and 2023.
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