Clio, a 17-year-old Canadian law firm management software company, announced it is acquiring vLex, a 26-year-old legal data platform, in a $1 billion cash-and-stock deal.

This comes a year after Clio's $900M raise which nearly doubled its valuation from $1.6B to $3B. vLex, previously bootstrapped until its 2022 acquisition by Oakley Capital, has been highly sought-after. Jack Newton, CEO of Clio, confirmed the strategic value of vLex's rich legal document database.

Previously, AI-native legal startup Harvey attempted to acquire vLex but was unsuccessful. The database is considered a long-term competitive moat, essential for training legal AI models.

vLex competes with LexisNexis and Thomson Reuters. The deal comes shortly after Harvey’s recent partnership with LexisNexis.

Read more on Clio's official announcement.