Analysis
Crosby, an AI-native law firm, has submitted a bid for part of the assets of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, the storied law firm now winding down after a wave of partner departures, The Information reported on October 29, 2026.
What Crosby does and why Weil Gotshal is selling
Crosby operates as a law firm rather than a software vendor, running more than 50 attorneys who use AI agents directly in casework, according to Dealroom. It is co-founded by CEO Ryan Daniels, a lawyer, and CTO John Sarihan, a former engineering manager at Ramp. Crosby is working to hire some of Weil Gotshal's roughly 1,200 lawyers as part of its bid. Weil's management committee has recommended an orderly wind-down after more than 30 partners left the firm this year and a planned merger with Willkie Farr & Gallagher did not happen, Dealroom reports; Bloomberg Law had separately reported in September that Weil was exploring merger options after an exodus of top dealmakers.
Crosby's funding history
Crosby's own capital base is smaller than Weil's ambitions might suggest, per a report mirrored on ua.news and Dealroom's own reporting:
“Crosby is working to hire some of Weil Gotshal's roughly 1,200 lawyers as part of its bid.”
- 2025 seed -- emerged from stealth with a modest first check.
- This March's Series B -- $60 million, led by Lux Capital and Index Ventures, with Sequoia, Elad Gil, 01 Advisors and Bain Capital Ventures also participating.
Dealroom separately reports Crosby's total funding at about $85 million, at a valuation of roughly $400 million that isn't tied to a specific round -- a modest capital base next to the scale of the law firm it's bidding to absorb. The gap between Crosby's balance sheet and Weil's size is itself part of the story: this is a software-era startup making a run at a decades-old institution with thousands of times its headcount, not the other way around. Pulse's funding tracker has logged how growth-stage legal-AI rounds have scaled through 2026, a backdrop against which Crosby's own raise still looks modest.
Who's involved
- Ryan Daniels -- CEO and co-founder, a lawyer by training.
- John Sarihan -- CTO and co-founder, a former Ramp engineering manager.
- Lux Capital, Index Ventures -- co-led Crosby's $60 million Series B.
- Sequoia, Elad Gil, 01 Advisors, Bain Capital Ventures -- participated in that round.
Legal AI's competitive landscape
Crosby's bid lands in the middle of a well-funded legal-AI race, per Artificial Lawyer:
- Legora -- closed a $550 million round in 2026 at an $8.8 billion post-money valuation; roughly $1.4 billion raised in total.
- Harvey -- has raised roughly $1.8 billion overall.
Both of those companies sell AI tools to law firms; Crosby's approach -- buying into a wounded Big Law firm's talent and brand directly -- is a different bet: that AI-native practice, not AI tooling sold to legacy firms, is the bigger prize.
Crosby's bid is not yet a done deal: Dealroom notes regulatory and partner approval "is not guaranteed," and Weil has previously denied active merger talks when asked directly.
What to watch next
Watch whether Crosby's bid is for Weil's brand and data alone or includes absorbing a meaningful share of its 1,200 lawyers, and whether a rival firm -- or one of Legora's or Harvey's law-firm customers -- makes a competing move for Weil's book of business before the wind-down concludes.