Tech start-up office

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Technology lawyers

We are as passionate about technology as you are and our globally based Withers tech venture capital arm thrives on supporting entrepreneurs and high-growth companies alike across the tech sector, by taking a ‘more startup’ attitude to solving problems.

Launching a new AI product? Developing a SaaS offering? Disrupting a major market sector? From development through to litigation, Withers tech provides a comprehensive global offering designed to meet the unique needs of entrepreneurs and high growth technology companies across the full spectrum of tech sectors.

Our clients are often at the cutting edge of technology, reinventing the way people interact with tech and disrupting entire market sectors.  We understand that the commercialisation of emerging technologies like AI, deep learning, and blockchain requires a different approach to the new risks our clients are facing.  We pride ourselves on being willing to adopt more novel approaches to solving problems with a 'more start-up' attitude.
 

The Withers tech team is passionate about technology and take a keen interest in the underlying tech our clients are creating. Our role does not stop at 'the legals'. We actively contribute to the start-up community, partnering with accelerators, industry bodies and legal tech providers to provide a stronger, more rounded offering (a number of our lawyers can even code). Our lawyers are actively involved in the development of 'project Terranova’ (funded by Innovate UK), working closely with Gene AI and leading academics with the goal of developing and exploiting leading-edge machine learning tools for lawyers. We are firmly established in the start-up ecosystem and are proud to have grown with some of the world’s most innovative companies, including working with a number of tech unicorns from inception. We are a global team that knows how to run alongside you at every stage of your company’s lifecycle.

Given the majority of our client base is made up of tech disruptors, we are uniquely placed to advise on the creation and development of technology solutions and the launch of new products and services to market. We believe all technology lawyers should be experts in data protection, and we excel in advising on privacy issues in respect of the development and launch of new technologies. We regularly advise our clients on: privacy by design, software development, collaboration & commercial partnership agreements, R&D and consortium agreements.

Our dedicated tech team has depth of knowledge and experience in advising companies on complex licensing arrangements with particular expertise in helping tech companies navigate the requirements and demands of enterprise level customers. We regularly advise our clients on: software as a service (SaaS) licences; on-premise software licences; proof of concept agreements; terms of use; service level agreements; reseller and referral agreements.

Operating at the forefront of technology, we understand that our clients constantly need to push the boundaries and require more than traditional dispute resolution advice. Our deep understanding of core underlying technologies and innovative business models means that we are ideally positioned to help our clients use litigation as a tool to overcome the regulatory, contractual and IP hurdles used by incumbents to suppress innovation. We regularly advise our clients on: strategic & business model litigation, enforcement of intellectual property rights, copycat technology, and shareholder disputes of technology rich companies.

We grow with many tech startup clients and understand that raising funds is of paramount importance for their growth strategies. Our team has significant experience advising some of the most exciting, emerging tech companies, structuring equity, debt and hybrid investments (including seed, series A, B, C funding, initial coin offerings), often involving several institutional investors and angels. In these transactions, we assist our clients to maximize the value of their venture business by structuring the deal and negotiating the terms of the investment and any shareholder arrangements.

Greenbackers

Partnership

Promoting sustainable investment in partnership with Greenbackers Investment Capital

We have partnered with Greenbackers, a US and UK based specialist venture capital firm focused on climate & cleantech capital, to promote investment in low carbon innovators and tech-driven solutions to the climate crisis.

Through Greenbackers' network connecting investors and sustainable tech businesses seeking funding, we aim to drive equity capital towards investable climate and clean technology businesses. Our Withers tech team will also provide advice and practical updates on the latest market trends and practices.

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Greenbackers and Withersworldwide

Track record

A leading payment services firm

Advising on a payment services firm's acquisition of a competitor in the payments space.

Acin on its $12M Series A financing

Acted for Acin, a data standards firm that is digitising operational and non-financial risk, on its $12 million Series A financing led by Notion Capital, with other investors including Fitch Ventures.

Alami Technologies on its USD 20M fundraising

Acted for Alami Technologies on its USD 20 million fundraising led by AC Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, and Quona Capital. Alami Technologies is Indonesia's largest licensed Shariah-compliant peer-to-peer lender, and provides access to Shariah-compliant debt capital for micro, small and medium enterprises in Indonesia, as well as lending opportunities to individuals and financial institutions in Southeast Asia.

Draper Esprit on $125M Series B financing of Thought Machine

Advising lead investor, Draper Esprit, on the $125 million Series B financing of Thought Machine, a UK fintech building cloud-native technology for banks.

Draper Esprit on $50M Series B investment into PrimaryBid

Advising Draper Esprit on a $50 million Series B investment into PrimaryBid, a British fintech platform that connects retail investors with public companies raising capital.

Draper Esprit on US$60M Series B funding of FintechOS

Advising Draper Esprit on the US$60 million Series B funding of FintechOS, a leading European fintech whose technology dramatically reduces the time it takes for financial institutions to build end-to-end digital products.

Gauss Ventures on $55M Series B financing of Curve

Advising lead investor, Gauss Ventures, on the $55 million Series B financing of Curve, a UK fintech whose platform consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one card and one app.

Grab on its competitive tender for a minority interest in LinkAja

Advised regional tech major Grab on its competitive tender for a minority interest in LinkAja, the fourth largest electronic payments platform in Indonesia, and a joint venture between Indonesian state-owned telecommunications company Telkom and Indonesian state-owned banks Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri.

Habito on multiple funding rounds

Advising Habito in connection with multiple funding rounds, including its £18.5 million (Series B) venture financing.

Leading payments company, SaltPay

Advising leading payments company, SaltPay on their global expansion across Europe and Africa.

Alami Technologies on its USD 20M fundraising

Acted for Alami Technologies on its USD 20 million fundraising led by AC Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, and Quona Capital. Alami Technologies is Indonesia's largest licensed Shariah-compliant peer-to-peer lender, and provides access to Shariah-compliant debt capital for micro, small and medium enterprises in Indonesia, as well as lending opportunities to individuals and financial institutions in Southeast Asia.

Grab on its competitive tender for a minority interest in LinkAja

Advised regional tech major Grab on its competitive tender for a minority interest in LinkAja, the fourth largest electronic payments platform in Indonesia, and a joint venture between Indonesian state-owned telecommunications company Telkom and Indonesian state-owned banks Bank Rakyat Indonesia and Bank Mandiri.

Wavemaker Partners Pre-Series A investment into CrediBook

Advised Wavemaker Partners as the lead investor in fintech start-up, CrediBook's Pre-Series A fundraising of USD 1.5 million this year with participation.

PRC insurance group

Advised a PRC insurance group in its two-stage divestiture of a B2C e-commerce platform to a U.S. retail group, the investment in a PRC third-party payment business and proposed debt/equity investments in a Portuguese wind farm.

Advised on Chinese divestiture of e-commerce platform and investments

We advised a People's Republic of China (PRC) insurance group in its two-stage divestiture of a B2C e-commerce platform to a U.S. retail group, the investment in a PRC third-party payment business and proposed debt/equity investments in a Portuguese wind farm.

Leading payments company, SaltPay

Advising leading payments company, SaltPay on their global expansion across Europe and Africa.

A leading payment services firm

Advising on a payment services firm's acquisition of a competitor in the payments space.

Acin on its $12M Series A financing

Acted for Acin, a data standards firm that is digitising operational and non-financial risk, on its $12 million Series A financing led by Notion Capital, with other investors including Fitch Ventures.

Draper Esprit on $125M Series B financing of Thought Machine

Advising lead investor, Draper Esprit, on the $125 million Series B financing of Thought Machine, a UK fintech building cloud-native technology for banks.

Draper Esprit on $50M Series B investment into PrimaryBid

Advising Draper Esprit on a $50 million Series B investment into PrimaryBid, a British fintech platform that connects retail investors with public companies raising capital.

Draper Esprit on US$60M Series B funding of FintechOS

Advising Draper Esprit on the US$60 million Series B funding of FintechOS, a leading European fintech whose technology dramatically reduces the time it takes for financial institutions to build end-to-end digital products.

Gauss Ventures on $55M Series B financing of Curve

Advising lead investor, Gauss Ventures, on the $55 million Series B financing of Curve, a UK fintech whose platform consolidates multiple cards and accounts into one card and one app.

Habito on multiple funding rounds

Advising Habito in connection with multiple funding rounds, including its £18.5 million (Series B) venture financing.

Leading payments company, SaltPay

Advising leading payments company, SaltPay on their global expansion across Europe and Africa.

RG Advisors on their £25M investment into City of London Group

Advising Ruth Parasols family office, RG Advisors, on their £25 million majority control investment into AIM listed financial services group, City of London Group plc for the purpose of funding the growth of a new challenger bank, Recognise which also saw Ms Parasol welcome return to the UK public markets.

Wavemaker Partners Pre-Series A investment into CrediBook

Advised Wavemaker Partners as the lead investor in fintech start-up, CrediBook's Pre-Series A fundraising of USD 1.5 million this year with participation.

PRC insurance group

Advised a PRC insurance group in its two-stage divestiture of a B2C e-commerce platform to a U.S. retail group, the investment in a PRC third-party payment business and proposed debt/equity investments in a Portuguese wind farm.

Mexican telecoms project

A telecommunications equipment manufacturer providing customer financing for the construction of telecom fiber networks in Mexico and other Latin American countries engaged us to advise.

US technology company

Advised in the acquisition by a US technology company of software and intellectual property assets from an embedded software company in Moscow and related technology service agreements with an affiliated entity in British Virgin Islands.

Advised on Chinese divestiture of e-commerce platform and investments

We advised a People's Republic of China (PRC) insurance group in its two-stage divestiture of a B2C e-commerce platform to a U.S. retail group, the investment in a PRC third-party payment business and proposed debt/equity investments in a Portuguese wind farm.

Roommate matching economy startup

Structured and documented a fund providing seed money for a sharing economy startup in the roommate matching space. Founders are accomplished, successful serial entrepreneurs in the “matching algorithm” field. The offering was a full private placement memorandum under Regulation D, Rule 506 (c), with blue sky registration in a number of states.

US micro-venture capital fund

Formation and private offering of a US micro-venture capital fund focusing on the business-to-business digital marketplace and advice on its investments in three portfolio companies: a platform providing athletes and parents with a suite of online tools to streamline the recruiting process; a platform providing restaurants with a trained food delivery staff and system as well as an app which communicates orders received by restaurants; and a platform that allows manufacturers and distributors in the IT sector to communicate with resellers of their products.

Chief financial officer of software firm

We represented the chief financial officer of a software company in connection with a SEC investigation. The commission was alleging that there had been accounting improprieties on our client's watch, but we were able to obtain a favourable resolution of all charges.

US technology company

Advised in the acquisition by a US technology company of software and intellectual property assets from an embedded software company in Moscow and related technology service agreements with an affiliated entity in British Virgin Islands.

Astelit

We represented Astelit, a Ukrainian telecommunications company controlled by Turkish GSM operator Turkcell, on a $540 million financing (at such time the largest private financing in Ukraine) to expand its mobile network.

Mexican telecoms project

A telecommunications equipment manufacturer providing customer financing for the construction of telecom fiber networks in Mexico and other Latin American countries engaged us to advise.

Indian Subcontinent

We work with successful families and regional/multinational companies from across a wide range of sectors and throughout the region, including India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

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Our team

James Shaw

James Shaw

Partner | London

James Shaw

Partner | London

Corporate

Susanna Stanfield

Susanna Stanfield

Partner | Cambridge

Susanna Stanfield

Partner | Cambridge

Corporate

Richard Penfold

Richard Penfold

Partner | London

Richard Penfold

Partner | London

IP, commercial and technology

Ben Williams

Ben Williams

Partner | London

Ben Williams

Partner | London

IP, commercial and technology

Phil Robinson

Phil Robinson

Partner | London

Phil Robinson

Partner | London

Corporate

Sarah Melaney

Sarah Melaney

Partner | London

Sarah Melaney

Partner | London

Corporate

Andrew Gay

Andrew Gay

Partner | Boston

Andrew Gay

Partner | Boston

Corporate

Joel Shen

Joel Shen

Partner | Singapore

Joel Shen

Partner | Singapore

Corporate

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