Ascend
VC Fund
Seattle, United States
Ascend is a VC fund in Seattle focused on Software and Artificial Intelligence. We invest wherever the Seattle Mariners play on TV. When I say “we”, I mean me and Jen, our mighty Chief of Staff. Marketplace, Consumer Brands, Ecommerce, B2B Software are my sweet spots. Preferred stage is pre-seed, preferred check $250-$750K. Ascend’s Limited Partners are a diverse group of technology leaders, financiers, and entrepreneurs.
- Total investments:
- 110
- Last investment:
- Lead investor:
- 10%
- Fund size:
- $25M
- Last fund:
Last updated:
For AI agents: llms.txt
Industries Ascend invests in
Stages Ascend invests in
Countries Ascend invests in
Round sizes
Contacts
| Name | Phone | Socials | |
|---|---|---|---|
Round size
- Seed
- $1.4M–$10M
- Pre-Seed
- $125k–$4.1M
- Series A
- $2.7M–$32M
Investment Focus
Industry
- Software 39 (35%)
- Artificial Intelligence 20 (18%)
- Information Technology 19 (17%)
- SaaS 16 (15%)
- E-Commerce 11 (10%)
Stage
- Seed 48 (44%)
- Pre-Seed 26 (24%)
- Series A 12 (11%)
- Series B 3 (3%)
- Funding Round 3 (3%)
Country
- United States 74 (67%)
- Canada 4 (4%)
Team
| Name | Title | Investments | Links | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Gavin Hewitt
Operating Partner
|
Operating Partner | Total investments: 0 | Find email | |
Kirby Winfield
Founding General Partner
|
Founding General Partner | Total investments: 29 | Find email |
Investments
| Company | Description | Round | Links |
|---|---|---|---|
Endurance Energy
|
Endurance Energy is a clean energy technology company that develops offshore geothermal power systems designed to generate continuous electricity from deep-sea hydrothermal resources. The company focuses on harnessing heat from tectonic and volcanic activity beneath the ocean floor, converting it into baseload power that can operate independentlyof traditional fuel supply chains. Its platform centers on seafloor-deployed generation systems intended to deliver steady power output in remote or high-demand regions. The company designs and builds subsea energy infrastructure that includes drilling systems, hydrothermal generators, and related marine deployment equipment. These systems are engineered to operate in deep-water environments where geothermal vents produce high-temperature fluids, enabling energy extraction through specialized conversion processes. The approach emphasizes continuous generation using naturally occurring thermal gradients rather than intermittent renewable sources.Endurance Energy also integrates maritime engineering, robotics, and offshore operations to support installation and maintenance of its systems. Its development model includes vessel-based deployment and testing, with engineering teams working on prototyping and validating equipment for deep-sea conditions. The company’s activities extend to operational planning for energy delivery to island grids and coastal infrastructure. | $54M / Series A / Jun 11, 2026 | |
StitcherAI
|
StitcherAI's AI-powered FinOps data platform to expedite your FinOps journey. | $3M / Pre-Seed / May 19, 2026 | |
Overland AI
|
Overland AI is a manufacturer and developer of autonomous navigation for off-road autonomous vehicles. | $80M / Series B / Feb 03, 2026 | |
Govstream.ai
|
Govstream.ai is a Govtech SaaS startup that offers AI technology for streamlining permitting and urban development. | $3.6M / Seed / Dec 01, 2025 | |
Hearvana
|
Hearvana is a IT consulting company. | $6M / Pre-Seed / Nov 05, 2025 | |
Hest Outdoors
|
Hest Outdoors brings the comforts of home to the outdoors. The company develops and delivers high-performance and well-designed products to improve enjoyment and experience outdoors. It was founded in 2016 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington. | $2.7M / Series A / Oct 22, 2025 | |
Omada.AI
|
Omada.ai is an "AI marketing team" that helps small and medium-sized business owners with their digital marketing chores on a daily basis. | Venture - Series Unknown / Oct 21, 2025 | |
Neon Health
|
Neon accelerates patient access to critical care by jumping through all the hoops to onboard and adhere to life-saving drugs, treatments. | $6M / Seed / Sep 02, 2025 | |
Audivi AI
|
Audivi AI is a tech company that offers drive through voice automation service for QSR industry. | $5M / Seed / Aug 27, 2025 | |
Yoodli
|
Yoodli is an AI-enabled platform that provides feedback on its user's communication skills. It helps users practice and improve their communication skills without the pressure of an audience. | $13.7M / Series A / May 21, 2025 | |
| See all 110 investments → | |||
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FAQ
What does Ascend invest in?
Ascend invests primarily in Software, Artificial Intelligence and Information Technology startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 110 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.
What is Ascend's check size?
Ascend typically joins rounds of $1.4M–$10M at Seed, $125k–$4.1M at Pre-Seed and $2.7M–$32M at Series A. These ranges are 10th–90th percentile round sizes calculated from confirmed public funding rounds, so they are a realistic guide to the rounds Ascend participates in.
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 Gavin Hewitt (Operating Partner) and Kirby Winfield (Founding General Partner). 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 Sep 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.
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