Legal-technology startup August has secured $7 million in seed financing to expand its artificial-intelligence platform for midsize law firms. The round was co-led by New Enterprise Associates and Pear VC, with participation from several U.S. law schools and angel investors including Instacart adviser Gokul Rajaram and OpenAI engineering director David Azose. Founded in 2023 by Columbia University alumni Rutvik Rau, Thomas Bueler-Faudree and Joseph Parker, New York-based August uses generative AI to automate document-heavy legal tasks, aiming to cut costs for firms that lack the resources of larger competitors. The 12-person company plans to double its workforce to as many as 30 employees by the end of the year as it competes with better-funded rivals such as Harvey.