Ascend Venture Capital
Venture capitalSt. Louis · Pre-Seed–Series A · 5 people tracked
Investment thesis
Ascend positions itself as a data-centric investor emphasizing deep industry understanding and foresight when selecting opportunities. The firm favors a selective, disciplined strategy—making fewer but smarter investment decisions—and highlights that meaningful outcomes can be achieved with modest capital. It backs adaptable founders who embrace change and disruption, and seeks brilliant people with transformative ideas. The firm frames its work as mission-critical capital aligned with a set of values it believes can benefit both founders and investors globally.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 7, 2026.
Team · 5 people
from the firm's website
What they invest in
from 11 of 12 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×4Deep Tech ×3SaaS ×3Climate Tech ×2Cloud Computing ×2Developer Tools ×2Advanced Manufacturing ×1AgTech ×1
HQs:United States×5
Investments · 12 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathApplied Bioplastics develops sustainable plastic and composite materials, including BioFi (a thermoplastic combining agricultural waste with standard, recycled, or biobased polymers) and BTR Board (a biothermoset resin composite made with woven jute fiber).
Advanced ManufacturingCircular EconomyCleantechNew MaterialsAustin, US
Colin William Ardern(Executive Officer)Alexander Irving Blum(Executive Officer)
Co-investorsGoAhead VenturesGreat Stuff VenturesR/GA Ventures
Co-investorsFortySix Venture CapitalTech Wildcatters
Cased uses AI to automate cloud infrastructure management, letting developers describe what they want to deploy and where while the tool handles tools like Terraform, Kubernetes, Docker, and AWS.
AI & Machine LearningCloud ComputingDeveloper ToolsSan Francisco, US
Benjamin Bleikamp(Director, Promoter)Garrett Bjerkhoel(Director, Promoter)Ben BleikampBryan Byrne(Executive Officer, Director, Promoter)
BoardTed Nyman
Co-investorsAbstraction CapitalSancus VenturesFounders Fund
FreightWaves is a news and editorial publication covering logistics, supply chains, and freight transportation sectors.
Data & InfrastructureLogistics & Supply ChainMedia & EntertainmentSaaSChattanooga, US
Craig Fuller(Founder and CEO)in
Co-investors8VCFontinalis PartnersMK CapitalNewRoad Capital Partners, LLCRed Arts CapitalRevolution+3 more
Journey Foods offers a software platform for discovering, analyzing, and managing food ingredients and formulations across the product life cycle, using AI to generate product data and search a database of over 4 million products.
AI & Machine LearningFoodTechSaaS
Co-investorsChloe Capital
MetaSoul builds a "digital sentience" software layer that gives AI agents, digital humans, and humanoid robots dynamic personalities, MBTI-based traits, and real-time emotional expression through its Emo Matrix.
AI & Machine LearningGamingRobotics
Star Catcher builds a space-based power grid that uses optical power beaming to transmit concentrated solar energy directly to satellites' existing solar arrays, increasing their available power without hardware modifications.
Deep TechEnergySpace Tech
Bryan Lyandvert(Founder)in
Co-investorsAurelia FoundryB Capital GroupB4 CapitalGreatPoint VenturesMVP VenturesOceans Ventures+1 more
OXIO builds a programmable Telecom-as-a-Service platform that moves telecom infrastructure into the cloud so it can be distributed like software.
Cloud ComputingDeep TechEnterprise SoftwareSaaSNew York, US
Nicolas Girard(Co-founder)inJason Hugh Evans(Executive Officer, Director)
BoardJulio Vasconcellos(Director)inMatt Shapiro(Director)Caio Bolognesi(Director)Frank Ianna(Director)
Co-investorsCollab+CurrencyDigital Currency GroupFuture Perfect VenturesKing River CapitalMONASHEESMulticoin Capital+2 more
Producers Trust organizes sustainable supply chain solutions for the food and agriculture sector, using its Landscape Relationship Management (LRM™) platform to connect farmer groups, run multi-stakeholder transformation projects, and enable transparent trading of farmer outputs.
AgTechClimate TechImpact & Social Good
Frequently asked questions
- What stage does Ascend Venture Capital invest at?
- Ascend Venture Capital invests at the Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A stages.
- What sectors does Ascend Venture Capital focus on?
- Ascend Venture Capital focuses on Data & Infrastructure, Deep Tech, Hardware, SaaS.
- Where is Ascend Venture Capital located?
- Ascend Venture Capital is headquartered in St. Louis, US.
- Does Ascend Venture Capital lead rounds?
- Ascend Venture Capital typically participates in rounds rather than leading them.
Media · Podcasts & interviews
featuring the teamInvestor Connect - Episode 218 - Dan Conner of Ascend Venture Capital - YouTube
Hall Martin · Dan Conner
Ascend Venture Capital Partner Dan Conner - Fuller Speed Ahead - YouTube
FreightWaves · Dan Conner
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