Qualcomm Fuels SpotDraft's On-Device AI Revolution with $100M+ Backing, Valuation Hits $400M

On January 26, 2026, Qualcomm announced a significant investment in SpotDraft, a startup specializing in AI-powered contract management. The funding round, led by the chip giant, has doubled SpotDraft's valuation to nearly $400 million, underscoring the surging demand for on-device AI solutions that process sensitive data without cloud dependency.

SpotDraft, founded in 2020, has seen explosive growth: 169% revenue increase in 2024, matching pace in 2025, and projecting 100% year-over-year growth in 2026. While exact funding amounts remain undisclosed, sources indicate Qualcomm's involvement pushed the valuation skyward from its prior mark. This capital will scale SpotDraft's on-device AI models, designed to review, draft, and negotiate contracts directly on user hardware.

Co-founder and CEO Lavanya Bijapur highlighted the investment's focus: expanding AI capabilities for sectors with stringent data rules. "Demand for on-device AI is emerging most clearly in tightly regulated sectors, including defense and pharma," Bijapur told TechCrunch, noting how internal security reviews and data residency mandates hinder cloud tools.

Traditional contract AI relies on cloud servers, exposing confidential deals to potential breaches or compliance issues. SpotDraft's approach runs models locally on devices powered by Qualcomm's Snapdragon chips, closing the performance gap with cloud systems. CTO Sankar Bhagat reported on-device models now trail frontier cloud AIs by just 5% in evaluations, with inference speeds one-third of cloud times on latest hardware.

• Performance Leap: 5% eval difference vs. top cloud models.
• Speed Gains: 3x faster than cloud on new chips.
• Revenue Surge: 100% projected growth in 2026.

This investment arrives amid a broader on-device AI boom, driven by privacy regulations like GDPR and sector-specific rules. Enterprises spend billions annually on legal techGartner estimates the contract lifecycle management market at $2.5 billion in 2025, growing 12% yearly. SpotDraft's tech could capture share from incumbents like DocuSign and Ironclad by offering zero-data-transmission security.

Qualcomm's stake positions it deeper in enterprise AI, beyond mobile. With Snapdragon X Elite and upcoming chips optimized for local inference, Qualcomm eyes a slice of the $100 billion edge AI market by 2030, per McKinsey forecasts. SpotDraft's success validates Qualcomm's hardware as the backbone for AI workloads previously cloud-bound.

Looking ahead, this deal accelerates a shift where on-device AI becomes standard for sensitive apps. Expect competitors like Anthropic or xAI to follow with edge-optimized models. For businesses, it means faster contract cyclesSpotDraft claims 80% reduction in review timesslashing legal costs by millions.

Regulated industries stand to gain most: pharma firms handling IP-protected formulas, defense contractors with classified bids. Broader ripple effects include reduced cloud bills (AWS, Azure lose out) and new revenue for chipmakers. By 2028, IDC predicts 40% of enterprise AI will run on-device, up from 10% today.

SpotDraft's trajectory post-funding? Global expansion, with hires in sales and R&D to hit $100M+ ARR by 2027. Qualcomm integration could embed SpotDraft AI in Windows PCs and Android devices, democratizing advanced contract tools.

This isn't just fundingit's a market pivot. On-device AI for prosaic tasks like contracts proves the tech's maturity, paving the way for AI in every enterprise workflow. Watch for copycats and consolidations as the $400M club grows.