Parrot, a transcription platform catering to the legal and insurance sectors, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $11 million in a Series A funding round. Alongside this investment, the company introduced a groundbreaking feature that can summarize depositions in a matter of seconds, providing a valuable tool for legal experts.
The funding round was co-led by Amplify Partners and XYZ Venture Capital, bringing Parrot’s total raised capital to $14 million since its establishment. However, the company did not disclose its valuation when asked.
Parrot was founded in 2019 by attorney Eric Baum, his brother Bryan Baum, and a team of AI and speech-to-text transcription experts. Eric, a former prosecutor who conducted depositions for the special victims unit of the state attorney’s office in Florida, recognized the growing demand for court reporters and sought to streamline the deposition process using large language models (LLMs). Parrot’s vision is to leverage AI and advanced transcription technology not only in the legal industry but also across various other sectors.
Amplify Partners general partner Mike Dauber expressed his belief in the transformative potential of LLMs, stating that they represent the next paradigm shift, comparable to the impact of the internet and mobile technology.
Aaron O’Brien, the CEO of Parrot, brings over 15 years of experience in the tech industry, having previously worked at prominent firms such as Flexport, Uber, and Facebook. O’Brien emphasized that Parrot’s founding team recognized the opportunity to introduce much-needed technology to the legal industry, which has historically been overlooked and underserved. Contrary to the perception that lawyers are resistant to adopting new technologies, O’Brien stated that attorneys are eager for innovative solutions that are purpose-built and trustworthy, aligning with their workflow requirements.
O’Brien joined Parrot’s founding team in 2021 through an introduction by the startup’s early investors. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in scaling Parrot into a leading deposition provider, catering to global insurance carriers.
Parrot AI’s overarching objective is to enhance the efficiency of information gathering and synthesis, ultimately leading to better and faster outcomes by harnessing the power of AI.
The funding obtained in this round will be directed towards further investment in artificial intelligence for the legal and insurance domains, as well as the ongoing development of tools to address industry-specific challenges.
Traditionally, customers seeking court transcription services have had to contact a court-reporting vendor via phone or email, leading to lengthy confirmation wait times. Parrot simplifies this process by allowing users to book a deposition and secure capacity with just one click. It also sends meeting-ready calendar links to all parties involved.
Another key challenge that Parrot aims to address is the time-consuming deposition review process. Currently, attorneys must request an expensive transcript, which typically takes more than ten days to receive. Parrot’s deposition review tools provide attorneys with a fully searchable, highly accurate rough draft transcript synchronized with video and audio, which is one of the company’s most valuable features. Furthermore, Parrot securely stores a comprehensive archive of deposition transcripts, video and audio recordings, and more in its cloud-based platform.
O’Brien highlighted Parrot’s unique approach, emphasizing that their specialized models are extensively trained on proprietary and domain-specific data. Unlike generic API-based solutions, Parrot offers a suite of highly customized models, infrastructure, and domain expertise that has been refined over several years, resulting in unparalleled accuracy for legal professionals.
Aaron Warner, an attorney at Warner & Fitzmartin, described the Parrot experience as akin to “going from a Nokia to an iPhone.” According to the startup, once customers begin using Parrot’s services, they find it difficult to go back to previous methods.
