Ascend offers payments APIs that automate end-to-end insurance payments and a buy-now-pay-later financing option for commissions and carrier payables. The company’s product is live across all 50 states after initially launching in 20, and it signed its first customer in July. Customers include Vouch, Cowbell, Newfront, Boost Insurance, NFP, LuckyTruck, Rogue Risk, Portal Insurance and Riskwell, representing upwards of $50 billion in total premiums. Offering monthly flexible payments has driven adoption of financing from under 40% to as high as 80% for some partners; one-third of broker-created checkouts convert to sale, and 30% of those convert the same day. Ascend plans to use new equity to grow the team, expand into additional insurtech markets, and build out go-to-market and product engineering. The company was founded by Andrew Wynn and Praveen Chekuri. Ascend provides payments APIs that combine financing, collections and payables to digitize insurance payments and offer point-of-sale financing for commercial premiums. The company is live in 20 states and signed its first customer in July, adding six more customers the following month. Those customers together represent $2.5 billion in premiums. Ascend plans to use the new capital for product development, go-to-market initiatives and hiring in its New York and Palo Alto locations. The team intends to become a licensed full payment processor in all states and aims to operate in all 50 states by year-end. Founders Andrew Wynn and Praveen Chekuri started the company in January 2021 after previously building Sheltr, which was acquired by Hippo in 2019.

Total raised

$286M

Funding rounds

3

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Jan 2022