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Brett Janssen

Co-founder & CTO, Blue J

Legal tech

Brett Janssen is co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Blue J, the Toronto company whose generative-AI platform answers tax research questions. He founded it in 2015 alongside University of Toronto law professors Benjamin Alarie, Anthony Niblett and Albert Yoon, bringing over 20 years of IT-industry experience. Blue J raised a $167.4-million CAD Series D in 2025.

Brett hasn’t spoken on a TechTO, TechVancouver or TechWaterloo stage. This profile is here because Brett co-founded Blue J, which appears in 2 talks in the archive.

Quick answers

Is Brett Janssen a co-founder of Blue J?

Yes. Blue J's About Us page, checked 2026-09-20, lists him as 'Chief Technology Officer & Co-Founder', and BetaKit, 2025-08-05, reports Blue J was 'founded in 2015 by Alarie, CTO Brett Janssen, Anthony Niblett, and Albert Yoon.'

Blue J is usually described as founded by three University of Toronto law professors. Where does Janssen fit?

Blue J's About Us page, checked 2026-09-20, tells the origin story through the three law professors but separately lists Janssen as a co-founder, and BetaKit, 2025-08-05, names all four founders. The three-professor framing is incomplete: Janssen is the fourth, non-academic co-founder.

What did he do before Blue J?

Blue J's About Us page, checked 2026-09-20, says Janssen has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, spanning software development through architectural roles.

How much has Blue J raised?

BetaKit, 2025-08-05, reports Blue J raised $167.4-million CAD ($122-million USD) in a Series D round after more than doubling revenue in the first half of 2025.

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Maintained by TechTO · facts sourced and dated · last reviewed Sep 20, 2026