# Skribe

Aiolum story: https://aiolum.com/story/skribe/ · added 2026-11-05 · updated 2026-11-06

**In short.** Skribe (Deposition recording platform with AI transcripts and AI analysis for litigation lawyers, USA): Runner-up startup at the 2026 American Legal Technology Awards, October 2026. Evidence grade E: no revenue figure was checked. Team: 2 co-founders, Karl Seelbach (a litigation attorney) and Tom Irby (CEO); headcount not published; live depositions are hosted by a network of independent-contractor digital reporters. Launched April 2023; still running.

Deposition recording platform with AI transcripts and AI analysis for litigation lawyers · USA · AI-native · team of 2 to 10 · still running · group: Legal and law firms

- Outcome: Runner-up startup at the 2026 American Legal Technology Awards, October 2026 (evidence grade of the headline number: E; no revenue figure)
- Launch: April 2023; months from launch to the outcome: 42
- Team: 2 co-founders, Karl Seelbach (a litigation attorney) and Tom Irby (CEO); headcount not published; live depositions are hosted by a network of independent-contractor digital reporters
- Outside funding: Seed round: the company stated US$2.3M raised of a US$3.5M target in September 2023, from angel investors including nearly 30 attorneys; its LawSites ballot entry listed Long View Technology Ventures and US$1M to US$5M in outside funding
- Main factor: Domain expertise
- Meters, 1 to 4: evidence strength 1, copyable pattern 1, capital needed 3
- Tags: AI-native, Small team, Funded, Running, B2B, Legal

Links:

- Visit skribe.ai: https://skribe.ai/

**The product.** A platform on Zoom for recording depositions (sworn out-of-court testimony in a lawsuit) without a stenographer. Speech recognition makes a rough transcript within minutes that is synced to the video, and an AI assistant built on Anthropic's model answers questions about the testimony with links to the video moments. Skribe's pricing page lists software-only plans at US$99 and US$129 per hour of media, and a Live plan at US$379 per record hour that adds a human digital reporter and a human-proofread final transcript.

**Why it worked.** Two Austin co-founders, a trial lawyer and a business executive, bet that lawyers would accept a video recording plus an AI transcript as the official record, because federal and most state rules have allowed non-stenographic depositions for decades and court reporters are scarce. The lawyer founder could explain those rules to other lawyers, and attorneys became both early customers and investors.

Evidence grades: A = disclosed by a public company, a filing or a payment processor, or verified by one; B = two or more independent reports agree, or a journalist confirmed it; C = a founder claim that no one else verified; D = reported, not verified: one founder claim or a third-party estimate with no second source; E = no revenue figure found, so the headline is a non-money fact and the other facts carry their own grades; calc = computed on this page from graded facts.

## Summary

Skribe sells a different way to record a deposition, which is sworn testimony that a witness gives out of court before a trial. The usual way is a court reporter, a stenographer who types every word on a shorthand machine. Skribe instead records the testimony on Zoom and makes a rough transcript with ASR (automatic speech recognition, software that turns speech into text). A generative AI assistant, which the FAQ says runs on Anthropic's model, then summarises the testimony and finds moments in it.

Karl Seelbach, a litigation attorney, and Tom Irby, the CEO, founded the company in Austin, Texas on 9 January 2022 and launched it in late April 2023, according to its LawSites ballot entry. By December 2023 the entry reported more than 100 depositions completed and 27 attorney investors. In October 2026 the American Legal Technology Awards named Skribe runner-up in its Startup category, as LawSites reported.

No revenue figure was found, so this page is grade E. The product is partly a service: every Live deposition has a human digital reporter, and final transcripts are proofread by people.

## Pricing

Skribe prices in November 2026, read on the company's home page and pricing page (grade C)

| Plan | Per month, billed yearly (US$) | Per month, billed monthly (US$) | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library (software) | 99 per hour |  | upload audio or video; rough AI transcript in minutes; clips |
| Link (software) | 129 per hour |  | a bot joins any Zoom deposition; rough AI transcript and HD video; human-reviewed final as an upgrade |
| Live (service and software) | 379 per record hour |  | Zoom room, digital reporter, same-day rough, human-verified final in 5 to 7 days, RealTime transcript and AI tools |
| In-person Live, extra | 100 per hour |  | added to the Live rate, minimum 3 hours |
| Library proofreading upgrade | 2.00 per minute |  | human proofread transcript |
| Rush final transcript | 3.48 per minute |  | next day |

All prices are usage-based: per hour of media or per hour on the record, billed in 6-minute increments for Live. Skribe's pricing page states a 1-hour minimum for Live events and a US$99 fee for a cancellation with less than 24 hours notice or a no-show. Interpreters and in-person videographers are charged at market rate. Plaintiff firms can defer Live costs through a partner, JurisPay, at 1.5 times the price.

## How much revenue does Skribe make? The numbers, graded

A deposition platform founded by a lawyer and a business executive in 2022, with no published revenue or headcount

| Fact | Value | Grade | Note | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Founded | 9 January 2022, Austin, Texas | C | Company entry on the LawSites Startup Alley ballot, 4 December 2023: 'Founded: 1/9/2022, Austin Texas.' | [1] |
| Launch | late April 2023 | C | Same ballot entry: 'Note – Late April 2023 Launch'. The September 2023 press release speaks of its 'recent successful launch'. | [1, 2] |
| Founders | Karl Seelbach (attorney and co-founder) and Tom Irby (CEO and co-founder) | C | Company's Our Story page. Seelbach is described as a litigation attorney with over 17 years in the courtroom. | [3] |
| Team size | not published | C | No source gives a headcount. The September 2023 release says the seed money will fund 'the expansion of its sales and support team'. Digital reporters are recruited as independent contractors. | [2, 8] |
| Traction, December 2023 | 100+ depositions completed, 50+ on the calendar, 700+ hours of video | C | Company entry on the LawSites ballot. Not checked by anyone else. | [1] |
| Outside funding | US$2.3 million of a US$3.5 million seed target | C | Company press release dated 27 September 2023. The ballot entry lists '27 Attorney investors', 'Long View Technology Ventures invests' and '$1M – $5M in outside funding'. | [2, 1] |
| Price, Live deposition | US$379 per record hour | C | Home page and pricing page, November 2026. The ballot entry in December 2023 gave US$349 per record hour. | [4, 5, 1] |
| Price, software only | US$99 per hour (Library), US$129 per hour (Link) | C | Pricing page, November 2026. | [5] |
| AI models | ASR for transcripts (provider not named); Anthropic for analysis and questions | C | FAQ: 'Skribe uses Anthropic as our foundational model for post-event analysis and answering your questions.' It says generative AI is not used to create transcripts. | [6] |
| Platform | Zoom | C | The press release calls Skribe 'a virtual platform, powered by Zoom' and quotes a Zoom partner manager on the partnership. | [2] |
| Startup Alley 2024 | one of 15 finalists chosen by public vote | B | LawSites, 3 January 2024. | [9] |
| American Legal Technology Awards 2026 | runner-up, Startup category | B | LawSites, 28 October 2026: 'for reinventing the deposition record as searchable, AI-ready intelligence at less than half the cost of the legacy model.' | [10] |
| Time from launch to the award | 42 months | calc | Calculated: April 2023 to October 2026. | [1, 10] |

How to read this table: a grade C value is the company's own statement on its site or in its competition entry. A grade B value is reported by the legal technology journal LawSites or is the text of a court rule. A "calc" value was computed on this page. No revenue figure exists in any source.

## When did Skribe launch, and how did it grow? Timeline

From founding in Austin to an award runner-up place, in about four and a half years. Each entry carries its grade.

- **9 January 2022** (grade C [1, 3]): Founded in Austin, Texas by attorney Karl Seelbach and CEO Tom Irby.
- **Late April 2023** (grade C [1]): Launch of the Zoom-based platform for non-stenographic depositions.
- **27 September 2023** (grade C [2]): The company announces US$2.3 million raised of a US$3.5 million seed target, with nearly 30 attorneys among the angel investors.
- **December 2023** (grade B [1, 9]): Startup Alley ballot entry: more than 100 depositions done, 50 more booked, 700+ hours of video. Chosen as one of 15 finalists on 3 January 2024.
- **22 August 2024** (grade C [11]): A generative AI assistant for summaries and questions about depositions is added.
- **14 May 2025** (grade C [12]): DeferPay lets plaintiff firms pay for depositions when the case ends, through a partner, at 1.5 times the price.
- **28 October 2026** (grade B [10]): Runner-up in the Startup category of the American Legal Technology Awards.

## Why did Skribe work?

### A rule that already allowed it

US Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 30(b)(3) says testimony 'may be recorded by audio, audiovisual, or stenographic means', and Texas has a similar rule. Skribe did not need a new law; it needed lawyers to know the existing one. The lawyer co-founder writes the blog posts and webinars that explain it.

### Lawyers as investors and first customers

The company stated that nearly 30 attorneys invested in the seed round after seeing the product, and that they wanted to be early adopters. A litigator selling to litigators could open those doors.

### Price shown up front

Court reporting is usually billed per page plus extras. Skribe's pricing page lists one hourly rate that includes the rough transcript, the final transcript and the video, and compares it with a stenographic deposition.

### AI on the recording, people on the record

Software makes the rough transcript and the AI answers. People do the parts that the courts and opposing counsel care about: a notary swears in the witness, and transcriptionists proofread the final transcript.

## How it was built

These details come from the company's own pages. They are grade C.

- The meeting room is Zoom, so lawyers and witnesses use an app they already know; the company calls itself 'powered by Zoom'.
- An ASR model writes the rough transcript within minutes and syncs it to the video. The FAQ does not name the speech provider.
- The AI assistant for summaries and questions uses Anthropic as the foundation model, on dedicated servers, according to the FAQ.
- Live depositions are hosted by digital reporters, notaries hired as independent contractors and trained by Skribe; final transcripts are proofread by professional transcriptionists.
- Customers were won mainly through direct sales, with partner programs for legal services firms, as the September 2023 release says.

Sources: [6, 7, 8, 2]

## Who tried this before Skribe, and why did they fail?

Two companies in our database of failed startups tried to change how legal work is done with technology. The values below are from that database and are not independently verified.

The failed startups come from our database of dead startups, retold here in our own words; Its entries are AI-assisted summaries of public sources, so they carry no evidence grade.

### Atrium (2017 to 2021; funding US$75M; cause: Product/Tech Failure)

- Promise: A law firm for startups that used software to make legal work faster and its prices predictable.
- Why it died: Its automation could not handle the complexity of real legal work, so it carried law-firm costs without a law firm's standing.
- Record: 

### ROSS Intelligence (2015 to 2018; funding US$13M; cause: Competition)

- Promise: AI legal research that would answer lawyers' questions faster than the old databases.
- Why it died: Incumbents with decades of data and lawyers' habits kept the customers.
- Record: 

## What changed

Atrium mixed software and human legal work and could not make the software carry enough of it. Skribe also mixes the two, but its human part is narrow and repeated in the same way each time: a notary on the call and a proofreader after it. The hard work, turning hours of speech into searchable text, is done by speech recognition, which became cheap and accurate after 2022.

ROSS fought incumbents that owned the data. Skribe's incumbents own no special data; they own the stenographers, and the company's own pages point to a shortage of them. Whether that is enough against large court-reporting firms is not yet shown by any public figure.

## Can one person copy Skribe now?

**Verdict: Hard for one person; possible for a domain expert with a partner.**

The method needs a lawyer who knows the procedure rules, a network of notaries in each state, and enough money to run before revenue. A solo founder could copy the software-only part (upload a recording, get an AI transcript and answers) for a profession that already records its work.

1. Find a profession where a rule already allows a recording instead of a human record, and where the human supply is short.
2. Show the rule text on your site, because buyers will be asked by the other side whether it is allowed.
3. Use speech recognition for the draft and a large language model for questions, and keep a person where the law needs a signature.
4. Sell to the people who know you: a lawyer founder can sell to lawyers and even raise money from them.

**What is still open.** Other recorded sworn or formal proceedings: insurance examinations under oath, arbitration hearings, and internal investigations.

## What could go wrong for Skribe?

- **What is not verified.** No revenue figure was found. We looked for a payment-processor profile, a founder interview with numbers, and a filing; none exists in the sources. The only traction numbers are the company's own ballot entry of December 2023 (100+ depositions, 700+ hours of video). The headcount is not published. A reader could look for a later funding announcement or an interview with the founders that gives revenue or staff numbers.
- **Part software, part service.** The home page labels the Live plan 'Professional Services + Software'. The FAQ says all Live depositions are staffed by a digital reporter, a certified notary who swears in the witness, and that final transcripts are 'proofread by professional transcriptionists'. The Library and Link plans are software only. The company's AI page says it is 'Not an AI Court Reporter'.
- **Court rules on recorded depositions.** FRCP 30(b)(3) allows audio or audiovisual recording, and Skribe cites Texas Rule 199.1(c). The company's FAQ says a very small number of states need a stipulation or court order, or do not allow it. Its own blog describes opposing counsel who objected to 'AI in lieu of a Court Reporter' and a hearing that the firm using Skribe won, and stenographers who cite a Texas Government Code section that governs certified reporters.
- **Competition and dependence.** In its own ballot entry Skribe named Veritext, Esquire and Lexitas as the court-reporting firms that hold over 90% of the market, and Parrot, Steno, Calloquy and Verbit as technology competitors. The product depends on Zoom for the meeting room and on Anthropic for its AI answers; the speech recognition provider is not named.

## Sources

1. LawSites, 4 December 2023: Voting Is Open: Pick the 15 Finalists to Compete at Startup Alley at ABA TECHSHOW 2024 — https://www.lawnext.com/2023/12/voting-is-open-pick-the-15-finalists-to-compete-at-startup-alley-at-aba-techshow-2024-in-february.html (grade C). Read the Skribe.ai entry, which the company wrote. Source for the founding date, launch, traction, price in 2023, investors and competitors.
2. Skribe.ai press release, 27 September 2023: Skribe.ai raises $2.3M seed fund — https://skribe.ai/blog/skribe-ai-raises-2-3m-seed-fund-launches-zoom-based-legal-tool (grade C). Read in full. Source for the seed round, the attorney investors, Zoom and the direct sales.
3. Skribe: Our Story — https://skribe.ai/our-story (grade C). Read in full. Source for the two co-founders.
4. Skribe home page, read 5 November 2026 — https://skribe.ai/ (grade C). Read in full. Source for the plans and the 'Professional Services + Software' label.
5. Skribe pricing page, read 5 November 2026 — https://skribe.ai/pricing (grade C). Read in full. Source for the pricing table.
6. Skribe FAQ — https://skribe.ai/faq (grade C). Read in full. Source for the AI models, the digital reporters, proofreading and state rules.
7. Skribe AI page — https://skribe.ai/ai (grade C). Read in full. Source for how the ASR transcript and the AI assistant work.
8. Skribe: Become a Digital Reporter — https://skribe.ai/digital-reporter (grade C). Read in full. Source for the independent-contractor reporter network.
9. LawSites, 3 January 2024: Voting Is Closed and Here Are the Results: The 15 Finalists You Chose To Be In the 2024 Startup Alley at ABA TECHSHOW — https://www.lawnext.com/2024/01/voting-is-closed-and-here-are-the-results-the-15-finalists-you-chose-to-be-in-the-2024-startup-alley-at-aba-techshow.html (grade B). Read the list of finalists.
10. LawSites, 28 October 2026: American Legal Technology Awards Honor 2026 Winners Who "Ask Why" — https://www.lawnext.com/2026/10/american-legal-technology-awards-honor-2026-winners-who-ask-why.html (grade B). Read the Startup category. Source for the runner-up place.
11. Skribe blog, 22 August 2024: Skribe's Conversational AI — https://skribe.ai/blog/skribes-conversational-ai (grade C). Read in full. Source for the date of the AI assistant.
12. Skribe blog, 14 May 2025: Introducing DeferPay — https://skribe.ai/blog/introducing-deferpay-a-smarter-way-for-plaintiff-firms-to-pay-for-depositions (grade C). Read in full. Source for deferred payment and its 1.5 times price.
13. Skribe blog, 8 May 2024: Objection to Using Skribe? Overruled! — https://skribe.ai/blog/objection-to-using-skribe-overruled (grade C). Read in full. Source for the objection and hearing in Texas.
14. Skribe blog, 3 December 2024: Setting the Record Straight: Texas Deposition Rules Facts vs. Fear — https://skribe.ai/blog/texas-non-steno-rules (grade C). Read in full. Source for the Texas rule dispute.
15. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School: Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 30 — https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_30 (grade B). Read Rule 30(b)(3)(A). The text of the federal rule.
16. Skribe blog, 16 July 2026: AI in Depositions: What's Working, What Isn't, and Where Judgment Still Leads — https://skribe.ai/blog/ai-in-depositions-whats-working-what-isnt-and-where-judgment-still-leads (grade C). Read in full. Shows the company active in 2026 with the lawyer co-founder.
17. Database of failed startups, local export — /method/#dead (grade C). Local export. AI-written summaries, not independently verified. Source for the failed predecessors.

Contact: aiolum@livyden.com. Run Skribe? Send corrections or a verified figure to aiolum@livyden.com (subject: Correction: Skribe).