Meta researcher Ethem Coban leaves to start legal‑ai startup, seeks $6 million
Ethem Coban, who spent almost two years at Meta’s Superintelligence Labs training language models to answer legal questions, left the company earlier this month to launch a legal‑tech startup, a source familiar with the matter said. Coban, who studied law at American University and Goethe University, is in early talks to raise $6 million at a $25 million valuation, though the terms could still…
Key points
- Ethem Coban, former Meta Superintelligence Labs researcher, left in October to start a legal‑ai startup.
- He is in early talks to raise $6 million at a $25 million valuation; terms may change.
- The startup will help law firms build and customize their own AI models amid growing legal‑tech investment.
The legal‑industry AI rush has attracted other startups such as Harvey and Legora, and large firms are pouring money into proprietary solutions – Kirkland & Ellis has committed $500 million and Latham & Watkins is buying Nvidia servers to run custom models. Coban’s new venture aims to let law firms and corporate legal teams build and tailor models around their own expertise, betting that firms will prefer owning AI rather than licensing it.
Coban says the biggest hurdle will be convincing law firms that a former Meta researcher is best positioned to create reliable, controllable legal AI, rather than simply selling off‑the‑shelf tools.
The legal AI boom just lured a researcher out of Meta's Superintelligence Lab
businessinsider.com · 22 October 2026Loading the full article…
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