# Ascend

> Ascend is a VC fund in Palo Alto backing SaaS and Software. See 4 investments, round sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Palo Alto, United States
- Total investments: 4
- Last investment: Jun 2025
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/useascend
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/useascend
- Website: https://www.useascend.com

Ascend is a modern, all-in-one payments solution purpose-built for insurance. We automate insurance payments end-to-end — from online customer payments including premium financing to the distribution of commissions and carrier payables. We help digital distributors sell more insurance by simplifying operations, reducing payment friction anddelivering the modern checkout experience customers expect.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Ascend. Shizune tracks 4 team members at Ascend. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/ascend-276c?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SaaS | 1 | 25% |
| Software | 1 | 25% |
| Education | 1 | 25% |
| Generative AI | 1 | 25% |
| Higher Education | 1 | 25% |

7 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series A | 2 | 50% |
| Seed | 1 | 25% |
| Funding Round | 1 | 25% |

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 2 | 50% |
| Canada | 1 | 25% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Andrew Wynn | Co-Founder/Co-CEO | 0 | — |
| Edilberto Ruvalcaba | Engineer | 0 | — |
| Karen Ni | Designer | 0 | — |
| Praveen Chekuri | Co-Founder/Co-CEO | 0 | — |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Round size | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Clarify AI | Clarify is an AI-powered writing tool that accelerates the academic writing process. | $15M | Series A | Jun 25, 2025 |  |
| Clarify | Next-gen CRM, unifying customer data, automation & analytics. |  |  | Jun 25, 2025 |  |
| Clarify | Next-gen CRM, unifying customer data, automation & analytics. | $15M | Series A | Jun 10, 2025 |  |
| Topicflow | TopicFlow is a SaaS company that specializes in performance management solutions .Leverage AI and evidence-based practices to assess performance in real time and continuously improve it without wasting time on dreaded annual reviews. | $1.8M | Seed | Jun 25, 2024 |  |

4 of 4 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Essence VC](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/essence-vc) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Fika Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fika-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Gradient](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/gradient-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Madrona](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/madrona-venture-group) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- Recall.ai — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [The New Normal Fund](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/the-new-normal-fund) — VC Fund, 3 deals together

## Similar investors

### Similar stage
- [Antler](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/antler-be9c) — VC Fund
- [Alumni Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/alumni-ventures-group) — VC Fund
- [General Catalyst](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/general-catalyst-partners) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Ascend invest in?

Ascend invests primarily in SaaS, Software and Education startups, most often at Series A and Seed stage. Most of the 4 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Ascend?

Public channels for Ascend include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Ascend?

The team at Ascend includes Andrew Wynn (Co-Founder/Co-CEO), Edilberto Ruvalcaba (Engineer) and Karen Ni (Designer). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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