1. Hi Chris, tell us the story behind Xapien.
My co-founders, Shaun O’Mahony, Dan Secretan, and I met at BAE Systems, working on national security projects, anti-financial crime, and large-scale open-source intelligence systems.
We saw the potential of publicly available information to help organisations understand who they do business with and make informed decisions about third parties.
In today’s business environment, this understanding is crucial. However, gathering relevant information is difficult, expensive, and time-consuming. The data is scattered across databases, websites, blogs, and social media pages.
A key challenge is disambiguation — accurately identifying individuals or organisations with similar or identical names. Humans do this instinctively, filtering signals from noise by recognising associations with locations, organisations, or known contacts. But this takes time. Companies often outsource research to professional services firms, which takes days, costs thousands, and results in static reports.
At Xapien, we created dynamic due diligence. Using AI, we automate deep due diligence on prospective clients, donors, and third parties — delivering insights in minutes, not days.
2. What are the services or products that Xapien provides?
Xapien offers a single AI-powered product that automates manual research, producing executive level reports on any person or organisation worldwide in minutes.
We provide transparency to over 100 customers across three continents. Our clients include Pinsent Masons, one of the world’s largest law firms, which uses Xapien to streamline client onboarding; Zurich Insurance, which applies our technology to fraud investigations; and Dartmouth College, which leverages Xapien to mitigate reputational risk.
Our solution is the first of its kind — dynamic due diligence. By “dynamic,” we mean two things:
First – real-time insights – Traditional due diligence tools are static and updated manually. Human-led due diligence produces a single report, often following a standard template. Xapien, however, delivers live, real-time internet data. Users can also ask their own questions, enabling them to check for new risks as they emerge.
This is important because risk today isn’t the same as risk tomorrow. At the beginning of February 2022, links to Russian entities weren’t necessarily a concern. That all changed overnight on 24th February 2022.
Second – ongoing risk monitoring – third-party risks evolve over time. Traditional due diligence screens risks at onboarding, but situations can change overnight. Manually updating due diligence reports is impractical. With Xapien, clients refresh reports on demand, ensuring continuous risk monitoring—bringing them closer to “perpetual KYC,” the ultimate goal for compliance teams.
3. How does the above optimise the daily operations of an in-house legal team/ law firm?
Xapien is a growing solution in the legal sector, with over a dozen law firms using it. One of our largest clients, Pinsent Masons, adopted Xapien for client and matter onboarding.
Before Xapien, onboarding took an average of 26 days, wasting millions in partner time and deterring clients.
Now, Xapien automates 90% of onboarding, reducing AML risk analysis hours by 58%. This is expected to save £1 million in lost partner time and prevent up to £26 million in potential fines.
Crucially, AML teams shift from handling routine onboarding to providing strategic advice throughout the client lifecycle. Firms can better manage risk and transform compliance culture. Analysts now act as strategic advisors to guide partners on where to focus resources in line with regulatory and reputational priorities.
4. What do you believe will be the most significant change in how in-house legal teams use technology in the next 10 years?
Technology will replace manual and heavy lifting process. Humans are not redundant, but they will do what human’s do best: applying judgement and making decisions, not getting buried in manual processes.
The business of law is about relationships between parties. Technology will allow law firms to truly understand their customers, enabling them to better serve and advise them across the entire lifecycle of the relationship. Firms that embrace this shift will gain a competitive edge in an evolving market.
KorumLegal is a boutique legal consultancy committed to providing value innovation in legal service delivery. The legal services industry is continuing to change with ‘NewLaw’ – and clients are seeking more innovative and cost-effective solutions without compromise on experience and quality
