Allen & Overy's Fuse space in One Bishop Square, London

Allen & Overy (A&O) has opened the application process for the third round of its London tech incubation programme Fuse.

Applications are open from today to all stages of business – from startups to mature companies – and will close on 25 January 2019. A pitch day will take place in February, with companies moving into A&O's Fuse office space for approximately six months shortly after.

Head of Fuse Shruti Ajitsaria told Legal Week that A&O will look for companies that have "good synergy with A&O lawyers and our way of working".

The number of companies involved will be decided at a later date, and will depend on "how many of the applicants the firm feels they can work well with", according to Ajitsaria. Eight companies were selected for each of the first and second runs of the programme.

Ajitsaria said: "Fuse acts as a radar, enabling us to understand what is out there in terms of technology-driven solutions to the challenges that our lawyers and clients face every day.

"The focus of Fuse will remain the same – it was created to give our lawyers and clients opportunities to better understand the use of technology that can benefit them. We're always keen to hear from companies that use technology in unique and innovative ways.

"Selecting a new cohort will enable us to continue to be a destination and a collaborative partner for best-in-class tech companies with whom we find synergies."

Since Fuse first launched in mid-2017, 13 companies have participated in the programme, including Kira, which raised $50m in September from the first external funding round, and Bloomsbury AI, which was later bought by Facebook.

A&O has licensed the technology of four of the companies from its first two cohorts – Avokka, Legatics, Kira and RAVN.

Companies involved in the programme's first two runs were visited more than 8,000 times by A&O lawyers and met with 200 separate clients, according to the magic circle firm.

A number of other UK law firms have launched similar initiatives during recent years, in an attempt to tap into the fast-growing financial technology market.

Addleshaw Goddard, Simmons & Simmons and Slaughter and May are among those to have established funds to provide free legal and other services to so-called 'fintech' startups.