The Founding Journey

From a Shared Vision at SMU to Leading LegalTech Innovation Across Asia-Pacific

We first met at Singapore Management University (SMU)—one studying law, the other immersed in technology.

What began as informal conversations during bouldering sessions soon transformed into a shared vision: To bridge the gap between law and technology.

We founded AITHENA with one central belief:

That legal research should be faster, smarter, and more trustworthy—without losing the depth and diligence the legal profession demands.

Since then, the journey has grown far beyond just two of us.

Highlights from Our Journey So Far:

• Winners of the Databricks University Hackathon – Ranked 1st in the APJ region, standing out amongst hundreds of teams across the entire Asia-Pacific region
• Built a proprietary MVP AI platform that extracts real, reliable, and accurate legal cases and then generates traceable, editable legal case summaries in seconds
• Successfully piloted AITHENA with practicing lawyers, refining our models through real-world feedback
• Collaborated with SMU’s legal innovation ecosystem and engaged student contributors across multiple disciplines ranging from Law to Data Science
• Onboarded multiple contributing engineers, lawyers, and product thinkers aligned with our mission
• Delivered talks at:
  • SMU Tech Collider
  • e27's Legal & Tech panel, alongside respected startups and VC-backed companiesContinued growth of a cross-functional team dedicated to improving legal workflows through thoughtful innovation

What started with a simple question between two friends—“Why is legal research painful?”—has grown into a movement to reimagine how legal professionals work.

As we look to the future, AITHENA remains committed to empowering lawyers with tools that are transparent, efficient, and grounded in integrity.

If you’re a legal practitioner, technologist, or innovator interested in shaping the future of legal work, we’d love to connect.

Reach out to us at hello@aithena.sg

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