OpenAI has named London legal technology startup Telon as a “select partner” as it looks to expand the use of its AI across law firms and corporate legal teams.
The partnership will see Telon work with OpenAI’s customers to implement and deploy its AI technology, with the startup providing “legal engineers” who can configure models, build agents, engineer prompts and train lawyers to use the technology effectively.
Founded in June by former PwC partner Lewis Bretts, Telon is built around the idea that buying AI software is only the beginning. The company works directly with legal teams to put the technology into practice, rather than simply providing another piece of software for lawyers to use.
Bretts previously built PwC’s legal practice and has held senior roles across legal technology and alternative legal services. Business Insider reported that Telon has grown to around 30 people since launching and has raised investment from Zach Posner’s LegalTech Fund, although the company has not disclosed its customers or the financial terms of its agreement with OpenAI.
OpenAI launched its Partner Network in June as part of a wider effort to help businesses deploy its models. The company has said it aims to certify 300,000 consultants by the end of 2026, creating a network of partners capable of implementing its technology inside businesses.
Telon is one of those partners, but its model is more specialised. Its legal engineers are primarily lawyers who are trained to work with AI, sitting inside law firms and corporate legal departments and helping teams redesign how work gets done around the technology.
The company describes itself as an “activation layer” for legal AI. Its services range from configuring AI platforms that customers have already bought, to embedding AI-native lawyers inside teams and taking on legal and contracting work itself.
The distinction is becoming increasingly important as AI companies move deeper into professional services.
Law firms have rapidly adopted generative AI, but the challenge is no longer simply persuading them to buy the technology. The bigger question is how much of its potential they actually use once it is deployed.
Bretts told Business Insider that companies can successfully complete an AI pilot and buy licences, only for employees to use a fraction of what the technology can do months later. Unlike traditional enterprise software, AI models are also being updated constantly, meaning the capabilities available to a business can change significantly over relatively short periods.
Telon is therefore positioning itself as an ongoing implementation partner rather than a consultancy brought in for a single technology project.
The partnership comes as OpenAI increases its focus on legal technology. The company launched Astra for Law this month, a legal-focused offering aimed at the largest US law firms, with enhanced legal search, integrations with legal technology platforms and model adjustments designed for legal work.
For OpenAI, the relationship with Telon offers a way to put its technology directly into legal workflows without having to build every layer of implementation itself.
For Telon, the partnership provides an early relationship with one of the world’s leading AI companies while giving it a route into the firms and legal departments adopting the technology.
The broader opportunity is the space between AI capability and AI adoption: as models become more capable, the businesses that can turn that capability into actual work may become as important as the companies building the models themselves.
