First Ascent Ventures
Venture capitalToronto · Series A–Late Stage · 7 people tracked
Find your way into First Ascent Ventures
1,722 people in our graph share verified history with the First Ascent Ventures team — schools, employers, funds. One of them is your warm intro.
Investment thesis
First Ascent Ventures backs enterprise software companies leveraging cloud, AI, machine learning, big data, 5G, mobility, blockchain and IoT, with an added focus on privacy and security. It typically invests from the Series A/B round onward in companies with growing monthly recurring revenue, strong products and top-tier customer references. The firm requires a board seat and actively assists management teams in scaling globally, offering not just capital but the operating and transaction experience of its team across IPOs, follow-on financings and M&A. FAV Fund I ($100M) is fully invested and FAV Fund II ($125M) closed in August 2021.
Source: firm website, verified Aug 3, 2026.
Team · 7 people
from the firm's website & public directories
What they invest in
from 8 of 10 portfolio companiesAI & Machine Learning ×7Data & Infrastructure ×5SaaS ×5Enterprise Software ×4Impact & Social Good ×2Advanced Manufacturing ×1Creator Economy ×1Cybersecurity ×1
HQs:Canada×3United States×3
Investments · 10 tracked
founders shown can be your intro pathBy year:2023 · 12022 · 12021 · 22020 · 12019 · 27 dated
Darwin CX is a SaaS platform for publishers and membership-based organizations that uses real-time customer data to improve acquisition and retention rates while reducing fulfillment costs.
AI & Machine LearningCreator EconomyEnterprise SoftwareMarketing TechMedia & EntertainmentSaaSToronto, CA
Liam Lynch(Founder)in
Co-investorsNew Era Capital PartnersTeralys Capital
Potloc operates an AI-assisted, expert-led survey platform that uses social media sampling to source respondents and deliver primary market research insights.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureSaaSMontreal, CA
Rodolphe Barrere(Co-Founder & CEO)inLouis Delaoustre(Co-Founder & COO)inJulien Smith(Director)
BoardVidal Romain(Director)Jaccques Perreault(Director)
Co-investorsBrightspark VenturesEcofuel FundCAP HORN VCDesjardins Capital
Assent operates an AI-native platform for supply chain sustainability and compliance, helping complex manufacturers reduce risk, strengthen data integrity, and meet regulatory requirements.
Advanced ManufacturingAI & Machine LearningEnterprise SoftwareSaaSOttawa
Matt Whitteker(Director)inRob Imbeault(Director)inAndrew W.(Founder)inJonathan Hughes(Founder)inAndrew Waitman(Executive Officer)Russell Frederick(Executive Officer)in
Co-investorsVolition CapitalStepstone GroupVista Equity PartnersWarburg Pincus
AI automation platform with agents that observe real activity across tools, build a live Digital Twin of operations, and execute in line with existing processes.
Co-investorsKensington Capital Partners Limited
Osano is a data privacy platform that helps companies manage compliance with global privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and LGPD through cookie consent management, subject rights (DSAR) automation, preference management, website compliance scanning, and vendor risk assessment.
CybersecurityLegalTechSaaSAustin, US
Arlo Gilbert(Co-founder & Chief Innovation Officer)inScott Hertel(Co-founder)inBobby Jaffari(Chief Executive Officer)inJessica Hamilton(Chief Financial Officer)inSkye McCullough(Chief Customer Officer)in
BoardMichael Smerklo(Director)in
Co-investorsBaird CapitalLiveOak VenturesNext Coast VenturesJump CapitalLookout VenturesSocial Starts+2 more
Sama provides data annotation and labeling services for training AI models, serving companies across various industries.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureImpact & Social GoodSan Francisco, US
Leila Janah(Founder)in
Co-investorsRidge VenturesAntlerLa CaisseSalesforce VenturesVistara Growth
Sama provides human-verified data annotation, validation, and evaluation services for computer vision, NLP, and multimodal AI, combining automation with expert human labeling.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureImpact & Social GoodSan Francisco, US
Leila Chirayath(Executive Officer, Director)Leila Janah(Founder)Wendy Gonzalez(Executive Officer)inBenjamin Metcalfe(Director)Johann Schleier-Smith(Director)in
Co-investorsFujitsu VenturesMonochrome OnyxSalesforce VenturesVistara Growth
Shinydocs Pro is a platform that uses AI to automatically identify, classify, and search an organization's documents, files, and data across systems, helping reduce storage costs and improve document findability.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareSaaS
Jason W.D. Cassidy(Founder and CEO)inKhalid Merhi(Co-Founder and VP, Research & Development)in
Co-investorsGraphite Ventures
ThinkData Works provides a platform for accessing, blending, and integrating standardized data to support decision science across organizations.
AI & Machine LearningData & InfrastructureEnterprise SoftwareToronto, CA
Bryan Smith(Founder)in
Co-investorsExtreme Venture PartnersExtreme Venture Partners LLPYaletown PartnersBDC Capital Corporation
Other
Tracked investments with no reachable website or further public details — typically companies that wound down, renamed, or were absorbed.
555 Bryant Street
Portfolio news
latest coverage across their companiesOsano · termsfeed.com · Jun 23, 2026
Potloc · theentrepreneurstory.com · May 14, 2026
Darwin CX · finance.yahoo.com · Mar 4, 2026
Frequently asked questions
- How many investments has First Ascent Ventures made?
- First Ascent Ventures has 10 tracked investments.
- What stage does First Ascent Ventures invest at?
- First Ascent Ventures invests at the Series A, Series B, Growth, Late Stage stages.
- What is First Ascent Ventures's typical check size?
- First Ascent Ventures typically writes checks of $3.6M – $7.3M.
- What sectors does First Ascent Ventures focus on?
- First Ascent Ventures focuses on AI & Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, Consumer, Cybersecurity, Data & Infrastructure, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Hardware, Healthtech, IoT, PropTech, SaaS.
- Where is First Ascent Ventures located?
- First Ascent Ventures is headquartered in Toronto, CA.
- Does First Ascent Ventures lead rounds?
- Yes, First Ascent Ventures leads investment rounds.
- Who does First Ascent Ventures co-invest with?
- First Ascent Ventures most often shares deals with Kensington Capital Partners Limited, LiveOak Ventures, Next Coast Ventures, among 6 tracked co-investors.
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