Startup Tales | How Keplera accelerates the digitalization of legal processes
Find out how artificial intelligence with Keplera's software accelerates the digitalization of legal processes in companies.
The promising Sicilian reality born as an Alternative Legal Service Provider, thanks to an intuition of its three co-founders has also established itself as a 'product' Legal Tech startup, launching a software equipped with generative Artificial Intelligence features: Lex Hero.
How Keplera was born and what it offers
Initially proposing itself as a company offering personalized legal consultancy services in Sicily, the territory where it was founded by three young entrepreneurs with a degree in Law, then combining the offer of services aimed at startups and innovative SMEs, cultural industry and the "third sector" throughout Italy as Alternative Legal Service Provider and, taking advantage of the many opportunities offered by cutting-edge technologies , also entering into a logic of product “transforming” into a Legal Tech startup.
This is, in a nutshell, the path of Kepelra , born in Palermo on March 1, 2021 from an idea of the three founding members who, also feeling the need to expand the reference market by virtue of an iterative and reasoned approach, first chose to add a CTO (who became an "added" co-founder), and then sensed the potential of generative Artificial Intelligence .
Intuitions that started the development of a software equipped with AI features , Lex Hero , complementary to vertical legal consultancy services and capable of accelerating the digitalisation of legal processes within the company perimeter: from contracts to document archiving digital , up to the creation of other startups, passing through privacy or contractual matters and with increasingly broader business horizons.
Who are the co-founders of Keplera
The co-founders of Keplera are Manfredi Domina (CEO), Marco Baron and Fulvio Ingaglio La Vecchia. Three entrepreneurs from Palermo, with different experience and skills in the legal field.
Manfredi Domina's Experience
Thirty-two years old Manfredi Domina is the youngest of the three. After graduating and without ever having intended to become a lawyer, Domina gave vent to his passion for new technologies , counting professional experiences in multiple sectors: from legal and business consultancy for innovative startups with a focus on the development of business models to e-commerce, through legal support for communication and social media marketing agencies.
Marco Barone's path
Marco Barone, on the other hand, is qualified to practice law, and with Keplera he has focused on consultancy in three areas: copyright, industrial law and entertainment law.
Fulvio Ingaglio La Vecchia's background
Fulvio Ingaglio La Vecchia, finally, is authorized to practice before the Jurisdictions Superiors and, before founding Keplera, he gained extensive experience in administrative law, particularly in the field of public procurement.
The first steps of Keplera
Feeling almost immediately the need to broaden their horizons, shortly after the establishment of Keplera they have the business model and decided to offer qualified and personalized legal consultancy services throughout Italy addressing three targets : startups and SMEs innovative ; industry cultural and creative through legal support to artists of all entities active in these fields; assistance for the Third Sector , that is, organizations with social purposes.
Pre -acceleration with Bocconi 4 Innovation and participation in the first acceleration program organized by Zest
“ Keplera was born in Palermo, but we were pre -accelerated at Bocconi in Milan with Bocconi 4 Innovation, and subsequently we entered an acceleration program of Zest (at the time Digital Magics , ed. ) which included Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo among the partners ”, recalls the CEO of the Palermo startup.
From services to product: Keplera's first "turning point"
Shortly after starting the entrepreneurial initiative, also by virtue of an iterative and listening-based approach to business, “we realized that we could do much better to streamline legal processes on the one hand, and to provide clients with a post-consulting service on the other,” explains Manfredi Domina.
“For these reasons in 2022 we chose to involve Jacopo Trapani (current CTO) in our business, even if considering the state of the art he became a co-founder”, adds the Kepler CEO. A step at the base of the evolution of Keplera in a product startup.
The Birth of Lex Hero
“With Jacopo Trapani we built the first draft of the code for Lex Hero. A step that made us become an innovative startup in the 'true sense' of the term,” Domina recalls.
“ Today we are positioned with two complementary product lines: on the one hand, consultancy to companies for the digitalization of legal processes; on the other, after a company has availed itself of our consultancy, we try to secure it within the legal perimeter by listening to its specific needs ,” explains the CEO of the innovative company from Palermo.
How the Keplera’s business model developed: the role of AI
“The first version of our software did not feature Artificial Intelligence, also because before the launch of ChatGPT we were positioned in the Contract market segment Lifecycle Management Software. An even more niche segment than the one we are currently operating in,” Domina emphasizes.
Keplera's Atypical AI Approach as a Key to Success
“We therefore had a slightly different approach to AI compared to other innovative companies, paradoxically paying for the legal background that made us immediately understand what risks our customers were facing. While others were running, we chose to stop and think, aware of how everything we managed to get out of AI had to have a qualified database or a scientific foundation,” specifies the CEO of Keplera.
The first Artificial Intelligence feature for Lex Hero: the clause generator
Having taken the first steps with a clear path in mind for business growth, the first AI feature for Lex Hero ne arrives in 2024: the clause generator. A feature that allows customers to express themselves in natural language by asking to provide clauses that are automatically generated and contextualized based on the sector and the specificities of the individual contracts.
The second feature developed thanks to AI: the document importer
The second AI feature developed for Lex Hero is apparently less glamorous than the clause generator from a purely technological point of view, but it is also very useful for Keplera customers: the ability to import documents into PDF or Docx from any format to the platform, which, thanks to a proprietary editor, processes them to allow them to be archived.
The development of the third AI Feature for Lex Hero
Keplera is currently developing the third AI feature for Lex Hero. A solution developed after listening to and understanding the needs of customers, namely the clause reader. “A particularly useful tool for those who receive the contacts, because they will read it together with the user and send a series of alerts on the risks and if it contains red flags,” Domina explains.
Features capable of not only warning the customer about risks, but also of proposing changes if asked, while other AI-based features for Lex Hero are in advanced stages of development.
The role of Intesa Sanpaolo and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center in the growth of Keplera.
Participation in Up2Stars
Intesa Sanpaolo Group plays a relevant role in Keplera’s growth. In fact, participation to Up2Stars – Intesa Sanpaolo’s acceleration program created in collaboration with Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center and the support of the Gellify innovation platform – was a key step in the maturation of Palermo’s Legal Tech reality.
“It all started with a very normal application, followed by the selection process. We were lucky enough to be chosen among the many startups that had applied – explains the CEO of Keplera – and, after the Selection Day held in Turin and participation in the program, from the final Demo Day in Bologna our relationship with the Intesa Group has significantly strengthened ”.
The Acceleration Path in Silicon Valley
In September 2024 another project came to fruition ride important for the rise of Keplera, namely the opportunity to go to Silicon Valley for the exclusive acceleration program organized by Intesa Sanpaolo in collaboration with INNOVIT (Italian Innovation and Culture Hub) and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center.
A path full of meetings aimed at promoting the excellence of Italian innovation, which allowed the new selected companies to meet potential investors, start internationalization and, no less important, immerse themselves in the most dynamic and competitive innovative entrepreneurial ecosystem at a global level. “A very valuable experience from which we learned a lot, being chosen for a comparison with the heart of innovation allowed us to have new points of view”, Domina recalls.
The Elite Lounge Experience
Also in 2024, Keplera was one of the innovative companies that had the opportunity to participate in the Intesa Sanpaolo Elite Lounge organized in collaboration with Elite: the Euronext ecosystem that helps startups and SMEs grow and structure themselves through a set of services to support the business.
New business prospects for Keplera
Furthermore, Kepelra is part of the Business Development portfolio of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center – a service that supports Startups and SMEs innovative in the search for commercial partners and investors interested in the proposed innovations.
“With Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center we have a relaxed dialogue that has allowed us to be introduced to the Group’s Legal. With them we are carrying forward discussions on the product and on how it could be used, but just having this opportunity is a success.”
Keplera's successes in 2024
The opening of the Turin operational headquarters
2024 therefore marked a new turning point for the lively innovative startup from Palermo, which after being incubated in I3P opened an operational headquarters in Turin. “The initial idea was to focus on Milan but, while maintaining strong relationships with the most important innovative ecosystem in Italy, we chose I3P as a strategic partner” explains Domina.
Participation in the first edition of Frontech
A step followed by others equally relevant such as participation in the first edition of the acceleration program Frontech: a path dedicated to startups that develop solutions based on Artificial Intelligence launched by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Venture Capital together with Cariplo Factory, Gellify, Innois and Fondazione di Sardegna, with Microsoft and Algorand as technical partners.
The program concluded on 16 January 2025 in Cagliari with the final Demo Day, was fundamental for Keplera 's new prospects. “Participation in Frontech involved a great deal of work in connecting with the territory that allowed us to meet a lively ecosystem and extend our operations in Sardinia," highlights Domina. " Now, the goal is to work on the product so that it can then be on the market - continues the CEO of Keplera -. Having so many companies that trust us is a significant endorsement."
Closing of a major investment round
The endorsement was preceded by another success: the closing of an investment round that brought new resources and important partners for the future of Keplera. A capital increase of 770,000 euros announced last December, which in Legal Tech takes on even more importance as it is inserted in the context of a "niche " sector, contrary to what happens in the North Europe and, above all, in the USA.
“ We chose to be accompanied on this path by our 'historical' partner Zest who decided to follow us with the follow-on, by the person who managed the acceleration program, namely a CDP subsidiary, and above all we decided to work with Nextra Group as an industrial partner: one of the market leading groups that has invested in our reality ”, Domina explains with satisfaction.
The objectives for 2025 and the ambitions for 2026
Looking to the future, Keplera 's business strategy will always be characterized by a gradual approach, with a proactive and continuously expanding teams, on par with the skills of the talents working in Palermo.
“My perception is that of a company that is growing healthily and serenely. Allowing more and more people to do the job of their dreams and earn as much as in Milan while remaining in their homeland is a responsibility that I feel and that leads me to be conservative,” underlines the co-founder of the Palermo-based Legal Tech company.
Approach that does not change when setting short and medium-term goals. That are, “consolidate the position in the Italian market and triple the turnover in 2025 to repay the trust of customers and investors who believed in us, as well as understand how to direct the development of the business in 2026,” concludes Domina.
