Lawyers are eager to use artificial intelligence, but they are terrified of it making mistakes in court. This fear is exactly what Belgian startup Alice aims to solve. The company has just raised €1 million in pre-seed funding to build a platform that legal professionals can actually trust. By keeping humans in the driver’s seat, Alice promises to modernize legal casework without the risk of fabricated evidence.
Funding Fuels Expansion to Netherlands and France
The recent €1 million investment marks a significant milestone for the Ghent-based startup. The funding round was led by NewSchool and Seeder Fund. Several Belgian angel investors also joined the round to support the company’s vision. This capital injection is not just for keeping the lights on. It is specifically earmarked to accelerate the development of their proprietary legal workflow engine.
Alice was founded by Jeroen Villé and Armin Wintein, along with Chief Technology Officer Joren Coulier. They launched the platform with a clear goal. They wanted to create a tool that respects the rigid standards of the legal profession. The founders plan to use this fresh capital to expand their team and customer support operations immediately.
Growth is already on the horizon. While the company started in Belgium, they are looking outward. The roadmap includes an ambitious expansion into the Netherlands and France. These markets share similar legal complexities, making them a natural next step for the startup.
The legal tech sector in Europe is heating up. Investors are looking for tools that do more than just generate text. They want solutions that solve specific, high-value problems. Alice fits this description perfectly by tackling the workflow aspect of law rather than just the drafting part.
Gavel on digital desk with legaltech interface background
Solving the Hallucination Problem in Courtrooms
The legal industry faces a massive problem right now. Generative AI tools like ChatGPT are powerful, but they are also prone to “hallucinations.” This is when an AI invents facts, cases, or laws that do not exist. For a lawyer, this is not just a nuisance. It is a career-ending risk.
There have been several high-profile incidents recently. Courts in various jurisdictions have caught lawyers submitting briefs with fake case citations generated by AI. In Belgium specifically, judges have had to intervene in multiple cases. They have reopened proceedings and applied strict procedural measures after discovering incorrect references.
These incidents have created a climate of hesitation. Law firms want the efficiency of AI, but they cannot afford the liability. General-purpose AI models are trained on the open internet. They prioritize sounding human over being factually correct. This approach does not work in a courtroom where every word matters.
Alice is building a defense against this chaos. The platform focuses on “grounding” the AI. This means the software is restricted to verified legal sources. It ensures that every claim or citation can be traced back to a real document. This reliability is the primary reason why investors were willing to back the team so early in their journey.
How the Platform Keeps Lawyers in Control
The core philosophy behind Alice is simple yet critical. The AI should not replace the lawyer. It should act as a tireless assistant that creates a solid first draft. The platform is designed as an end-to-end workflow solution.
Most AI tools work like a chat box. You ask a question, and it gives an answer. Alice is different. It mirrors the actual way a lawyer works on a case.
Key stages of the Alice workflow include:
- Document Analysis: The system reads and organizes client files and evidence.
- Legal Research: It searches for relevant laws and precedents without making things up.
- Argument Development: It helps structure the logic of the defense or prosecution.
- Drafting: It generates court-ready materials that the lawyer reviews.
Jeroen Villé, the co-founder and CEO, emphasized the importance of trust in a recent statement. He noted that AI can only have a lasting role in legal practice if lawyers can maintain control over their cases.
“Alice is designed to help legal teams work more efficiently and consistently, without the risks associated with unverified outputs,” Villé explained.
The system forces a “human-in-the-loop” approach. The AI suggests, but the lawyer validates. This creates a safety net. It allows firms to speed up the tedious parts of the job, like summarizing huge files, while spending more time on strategy.
Growing Demand for Verifiable Legal Tech
The demand for tools like Alice is growing rapidly. Law firms are under pressure to lower costs and work faster. Clients are no longer willing to pay for hours spent on basic research that a machine could do. However, firms are also bound by strict ethical codes.
This tension has created a market for “vertical AI.” These are AI tools built for a specific industry rather than general use. Alice is already in active use by multiple law firms in Belgium. This early adoption proves that lawyers are hungry for technology that understands their specific needs.
The platform provides a unified environment. Lawyers do not have to switch between a research tool, a word processor, and a file management system. Everything happens in one place. This integration reduces the mental load on the attorney. It also lowers the chance of errors happening when moving data between different apps.
Why Verification Matters
| Feature | General AI (e.g., ChatGPT) | Vertical Legal AI (e.g., Alice) |
|---|---|---|
| Source of Truth | The entire internet | Verified legal databases |
| Citations | Often invented (Hallucination) | Linked to real documents |
| Privacy | Data may train the model | Strict data isolation |
| User Role | Passive receiver | Active verifier |
The table above illustrates the gap Alice is trying to fill. By focusing on verification, the startup is positioning itself as a partner to the justice system rather than a disruptor of it.
As Alice moves into the Dutch and French markets, it will face new challenges. Each country has its own legal nuances and languages. However, the underlying technology of verified workflows is universal. The success of this €1 million pre-seed round suggests that the legal world is finally ready to embrace AI, provided it comes with a safety belt.
The rise of platforms like Alice signals a mature phase for legal technology. The hype is settling down. Now, the focus is on utility, safety, and integration into the daily life of a law firm. With backing from NewSchool and Seeder Fund, Alice is well-positioned to lead this shift in the Benelux region and beyond.
Lawyers can no longer ignore AI. But thanks to specialized tools, they no longer have to fear it either. The future of law is not robotic lawyers. It is human lawyers armed with trustworthy digital tools.
