On the TechTO stage ×1
First seen on a TechTO stage in 2026. Every TechTO talk is searchable — ask the archive about Benjamin ↗
In their words
The whole premise behind Blue J was: we can leverage AI and machine learning to cut through all of that opacity, all of that complexity, and give tax professionals the tools to get insight into tax situations — to benefit their clients and ultimately make the tax system more efficient and more fair and more administerable.
I had this vision of standing at the front of a law school class with chalk in my hand in the year 2040, being like: I saw this coming a long time ago, and I let technology paint me into this very lonely corner here in academia. I thought, that can't be the future me.
In January of 2023, I made the brave decision that we were going to put the existing products in maintenance mode — and we had several millions of dollars in recurring revenue from those products. That was just not going to sustain the growth we need for this to be a really successful venture-backed business.
Around the web ×5
Quick answers
What does Blue J do?
Blue J (originally Blue J Legal, founded by three law professors) applies AI to tax research: it treats tax legislation, case law, and rulings as data so tax professionals can get answers to their questions. The generative AI platform, rebuilt in 2023 around US federal income tax law, is fully conversational, starts responding in about ten seconds, and has a net promoter score of +82.
Why did he leave academia to start Blue J?
As associate dean of U of T's law faculty in 2011, leading the first look at the first-year curriculum in 40 years, he concluded AI was coming for the law. Having spent thousands of hours updating a 1,500-page tax textbook that was out of date the moment it was bound, he pictured himself still teaching with chalk in hand in 2040 — and started a tech company instead.
How has Blue J performed since the generative AI pivot?
In January 2023 Alarie put the existing supervised machine-learning products — several million dollars of recurring revenue — into maintenance mode and gave his team six months to build a generative AI platform for US federal income tax questions. Blue J grew 360% in 2024 and over 250% in 2025, posted 226% net revenue retention, and closed a US$122M Series D in July 2025.