Killer Whale Strategies Invests in Cleary-Backed Startup 10BE5

Killer Whale Strategies, a consultancy that invests in legal tech companies, has invested in London-based capital markets startup 10BE5, founded by Cleary Gottlieb lawyers.

The stake, along with investments from several Angels, was part of a “pre-seed extension.” Along with pre-seed funding in February 2021 from Cleary, 10BE5 has raised under $1 million to date, according to co-founder John Kwan.

John, a former associate at Cleary, left the firm to launch 10BE5 in November 2019 and work on the startup full time. Co-founder Mohamed Taha still practices as a capital markets lawyer at Cleary, and although he is not involved in the day-to-day operations of 10BE5, he is fully involved in the development of the startup’s products.

Zach Abramowitz, investor and founder of Killer Whale Strategies, said that he was intrigued how 10BE5 told Cleary about what they wanted to build, and that he “was even more blown away that Cleary saw the opportunity and invested in their own people and their own expertise.”

10BE5’s new funding will be used to accelerate product development and expand the company’s geographic footprint.

To learn more about the investment, visit Artificial Lawyer, Legal IT Insider, and Law360 (subscription required).