Relativity CEO Phil Saunders says no net new matter goes to Server from Jan. 1, 2028, and he prioritizes frontier AI labs over integrations with Harvey and Legora.
Relativity is holding to its plan to require that all new matters be hosted in the cloud beginning Jan. 1, 2028, CEO Phil Saunders said Thursday at a media briefing on the last day of Relativity Fest in Chicago. Asked whether the company was sticking to the deadline it announced in January 2025, he answered, "Yes." He said the policy is not to end the life of Server but to ensure that no net new matter goes to Server from Jan. 1.
Saunders described partners as falling into three groups: those aligned and already sending new workspaces to the cloud, those he called hybrids, and some he called "just not aligned," which he attributed to business models built on buying Server as a capital expense and depreciating it. He said Relativity has budgeted "credits and money and effort" to help partners move from a capital-expense to an operating-expense model. He said Relativity earns "a lot less" from the cloud than from Server, but that "it doesn't matter." His message to partners who are not on board: "Know we're going to run through you."
As of the end of June, nearly 84% of the company's annual recurring revenue was in Relativity aiR, the new name for the cloud platform formerly called RelativityOne. When the deadline was announced in January 2025, the company put the figure at more than 75%. Relativity announced the rename on September 16, 2026.
Saunders also said Relativity is prioritizing partnerships with the frontier AI labs over integrations with legal AI companies such as Harvey and Legora. He said conversations with both companies continue, but the priority lies elsewhere.
On August 12, 2026, Relativity announced claiR, a conversational AI that works on data already stored in RelativityOne. It is expected to be generally available in 2027 at no additional cost, with A&O Shearman, Foley & Lardner and K&L Gates testing it.
