Cofounder, Certis
Search every verified Samir Bodas interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In an August 2024 interview, Samir Bodas, cofounder and CEO of Icertis, discussed the company's focus on using artificial intelligence to transform static contract documents into "dynamic assets." He described this as the "toughest problem" the company is solving, aiming to help businesses realize the full potential of their business relationships. Bodas cited examples of customers using Icertis's platform during the COVID-19 pandemic to identify force majeure clauses and during periods of inflation to locate cost-of-living escalation clauses. He characterized the contract as a potential "fifth system of record" for entitlements and commitments. Bodas also addressed Icertis's business strategy and market position. He stated that the company is cash-flow positive and profitable, and that its focus is on "making the donuts" — innovating and delivering customer value rather than immediately pursuing a public listing. He noted that Icertis has announced partnerships with companies including Harvey, Microsoft, and OpenAI to integrate large language model capabilities into its contract intelligence platform. Bodas emphasized a strategic imperative of maintaining profitable growth and compounding it over time.
“The toughest problem we are trying to solve is to help our customers get the full potential of every business relationship — to convert the static contract document into a dynamic asset by applying AI so you can realize the full potential of every business relationship.”
“When COVID hit many customers went to our repository and asked which contracts have a force majeure or termination-for-convenience clause so they could prioritize which customers to focus on — that’s the kind of value a contract-as-a-dynamic-asset delivers.”
“When inflation hit our customers were going to their contracts asking where they had COLA or cost-of-living escalation clauses so they could lawfully raise prices or negotiate — the contract can give you the right to raise prices depending on those clauses.”
“I think everybody agrees we need a fifth system of record — a system for entitlements and commitments: it can show retrospectively, currently and prospectively what my commitments, entitlements and risk are.”
“There is no one player who will know legal business language for every contract and vertical, so we believe in partnerships — we announced partnerships with Harvey and others and work with Microsoft and OpenAI to bring best-of-breed LLM capabilities to our contract intelligence platform.”
“Because the contract contains so much intelligence, and by connecting contract provisions to the systems that deliver or receive the product or service, you can drive more revenue, reduce cost, ensure compliance and mitigate risk — that’s the second magic after extracting what's in the contract.”
“The strategic imperative is simple: stay profitable, stay cash-flow positive and grow — growth gets premium from the market, profitable growth even more, so innovate and compound that growth over the next several years while delivering real customer value.”
“We don't need cash right now — we are cash-flow positive and profitable — so our focus is to keep 'making the donuts', get pricing right so customers get value and we capture full value, and choose timing for a public listing when the market is right.”
I speak with Icertis CEO Samir Bodas about the importance of software for contract management in the AI era, and his entrepreneurial journey.
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