# Emma Blackburn

> Emma Blackburn is a seed investor at Ascension (London) backing Apps and Audio. See 2 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: Angel Investor
- Fund: [Ascension](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ascension-ventures-limited)
- Location: London, United Kingdom
- Total investments: 2
- Last investment: Feb 2022
- Lead investor: 0%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emmablackburn1/

Emma Blackburn is a seed investor at Ascension in London focused on Apps and Audio. Emma Blackburn brings over 20 years experience leading finance teams both in the US and UK. Graduating from Stanford University with a Bachelors degree in Economics and Masters degree in Industrial Engineering, Emma worked in Audit and M&A for Ernst and Young, before moving in-house first at EQE International and then at Siebel Systems. Emmaestablished and administered all financial systems for international subsidiaries during the explosive growth period of Siebel Systems, “the fastest growing company in the United States (Fortune Magazine, 1999)”.Emma has held the CFO position at a number of start-up and scale-up UK technology companies. She is an active angel investor with a strong passion for both impact investing and investing in female founded companies. Outside of work, Emma is an avid traveler and boater, having renovated and cruised a barge around Europe, on which she now resides.Emma leads finance as CFO at Ascension Ventures.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Apps | 1 | 50% |
| Audio | 1 | 50% |
| Music | 1 | 50% |
| Wellness | 1 | 50% |

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 1 | 50% |
| Pre-Seed | 1 | 50% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPOKE | SPOKE is an app that provides an audio experience for well-being. It uses a unique blend of lo-fi music, hip hop, and mindfulness to help users re-tune their minds, sleep better, and strengthen their mindset. Each soothing episode includes music and spoken word by some of the UK's best producers and emerging artists, all of whom have beentrained by neuroscientists, psychologists, and therapists. | $1.4M | Pre-Seed | Feb 16, 2022 |  |
| SPOKE | SPOKE is an app that provides an audio experience for well-being. It uses a unique blend of lo-fi music, hip hop, and mindfulness to help users re-tune their minds, sleep better, and strengthen their mindset. Each soothing episode includes music and spoken word by some of the UK's best producers and emerging artists, all of whom have beentrained by neuroscientists, psychologists, and therapists. | $1.5M | Seed | Feb 16, 2022 |  |

2 of 2 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Ada Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ada-vemtires) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Bethnal Green Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/bethnal-green-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Goodwater Capital](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/goodwater-capital) — VC Fund, 1 deal together

## About Ascension

VC Fund · London, United Kingdom

Ascension is an early-stage VC built by exited entrepreneurs to back the next generation of tech and impact founders.Run by an experienced and diverse team of successful entrepreneurs, we have been relentlessly dedicated to finding the UK’s best Seed-stage startups since 2014.Ascension benefits from the active industry connections essential forthe sourcing and development of deal-flow and due diligence. The team has co-invested with the UK’s leading angels and VCs, key to securing follow-on funding as the portfolio businesses move to their next stage of growth.We believe in building an inclusive, community driven brand that can benefit the wider UK tech ecosystem and strive to work with conviction, integrity, humour, and humility.

5 contacts available at Ascension.

| Name | Title | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Jean Rollet de Fougerolles | Managing Partner & Founder | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/jean-de-fougerolles |
| Craig Fletcher | Venture partner and investment committee member | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/craig-fletcher |
| Emma Blackburn | CFO | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/emma-blackburn |
| Emma Steele | Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/emma-steele |
| Ian McClelland | Venture Partner | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ian-mcclelland |

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## Featured in investor lists
- [Health Care Angel Investors in United Kingdom](https://shizune.co/investors/health-care-angel-investors-united-kingdom)
- [Wellness Angel Investors in United Kingdom](https://shizune.co/investors/wellness-angel-investors-united-kingdom)
- [Music Investors in United Kingdom](https://shizune.co/investors/music-investors-united-kingdom)
- [Music Angel Investors in United Kingdom](https://shizune.co/investors/music-angel-investors-united-kingdom)
- [Music Angel Investors in Europe](https://shizune.co/investors/music-angel-investors-europe)

## FAQ

### What does Emma Blackburn invest in?

Emma Blackburn invests primarily in Apps, Audio and Music startups, most often at Seed and Pre-Seed stage. Most of the 2 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United Kingdom. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Emma Blackburn last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Emma Blackburn closed in Feb 2022. Shizune tracks 2 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### 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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