First Ascent Ventures

First Ascent Ventures is a Toronto-based venture capital firm, founded in 2015, with additional offices in Montreal and San Francisco. It concentrates on early-stage technology investments, primarily Series A and B rounds in enterprise B2B software and related domains such as cloud, big data, analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, mobility, IoT, and 5G-enabled solutions. The firm typically commits CAD 5 million to CAD 10 million per company and often takes a board seat to guide growth and strategic execution. While its origins center on Canadian technology companies, it pursues cross-border opportunities in the United States as well, leveraging its experience to help management teams achieve scale and pursue exits.

Richard Black

General Partner

Katharine Tomko

Venture Partner

Tony Marken

Managing Partner

Past deals in Canada

Thentia Cloud

Series B in 2024
Thentia Cloud is a leading company that specializes in providing regulatory, compliance, and governance database services. The company leverages proprietary technology to assist regulatory bodies in efficiently meeting their obligations. Thentia serves a diverse range of clients across Canada and the United States, offering cutting-edge software solutions and industry-leading expertise in regulatory standards. Their product suite includes a secure, user-friendly platform for regulators and a cloud-based compliance solution designed for private businesses, boards of directors, committees, executive teams, and stakeholders. This enables both public and private entities to maintain high standards of regulatory excellence in a timely and professional manner.

Potloc

Series B in 2022
Potloc Inc. is a Montreal-based company that operates an online consumer insights platform, which was founded in 2014. The platform specializes in providing businesses with market insights through various survey methodologies, including web panels, phone surveys, and geo-targeted surveys utilizing social networks. This innovative approach allows Potloc to gather authentic consumer feedback and data on purchasing habits, helping companies predict customer retention and acquisition. Trusted by numerous leading brands and organizations, Potloc's platform enables retailers and businesses to effectively connect with their target audiences globally. With offices in Toronto, Paris, and Geneva, Potloc has established itself as a key player in the market research industry, delivering high-quality data insights that meet the specific needs of its clients.

Sama

Series B in 2021
Sama is a data annotation company that specializes in providing image, video, and sensor data validation for machine learning applications. Founded in 2008 and headquartered in San Francisco, California, the company operates additional locations in New York, Brazil, Canada, the Netherlands, Kenya, Uganda, and Singapore. Sama's platform supports various industries, including transportation, retail, healthcare, manufacturing, and agriculture, by delivering high-quality training data that enhances the development of accurate machine learning models. The company's offerings include automated annotation techniques such as bounding boxes, semantic segmentation, and video object training, which streamline the data preparation process. By partnering with leading organizations, Sama aims to advance AI capabilities while creating opportunities for low-income individuals through the digital economy.

Dialogue Health Technologies

Series B in 2020
Dialogue Health Technologies operates a comprehensive virtual care platform that provides employee wellness and health solutions for Canadian employers. Founded in 2016 and based in Montreal, the company offers a variety of services aimed at enhancing employee engagement and health. Its platform allows employees to interact with healthcare professionals, including nurses and doctors, for support in physical and mental health. Additionally, the platform facilitates care navigation, medication delivery, and referrals to specialists. By empowering employees to take charge of their health, Dialogue Health Technologies helps businesses create a healthier workforce, leading to increased productivity and overall employee satisfaction.

Sensibill

Series B in 2019
Sensibill Inc., established in Toronto, Canada in 2012, operates a cloud-based application that helps users manage and track their spending via receipts. The company's AI-powered platform enables end-users to easily monitor their financial habits while providing financial institutions with personalized insights to assist customers in building healthier finances. Sensibill has reached over 60 million users across North America and the U.K., transforming SKU-level data into actionable insights for both consumers and institutions.

Dialogue Health Technologies

Series B in 2019
Dialogue Health Technologies operates a comprehensive virtual care platform that provides employee wellness and health solutions for Canadian employers. Founded in 2016 and based in Montreal, the company offers a variety of services aimed at enhancing employee engagement and health. Its platform allows employees to interact with healthcare professionals, including nurses and doctors, for support in physical and mental health. Additionally, the platform facilitates care navigation, medication delivery, and referrals to specialists. By empowering employees to take charge of their health, Dialogue Health Technologies helps businesses create a healthier workforce, leading to increased productivity and overall employee satisfaction.

Q4

Series C in 2018
Q4 Inc. is a cloud-based platform that specializes in providing investor relations (IR) and capital market solutions to public companies globally. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with additional offices in New York, Chicago, and Copenhagen, Q4 offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to enhance communication and engagement between organizations and their investors. Their flagship product, Q4 Desktop, serves as an all-in-one IR solution that equips clients with the necessary insights and information for effective decision-making. The company designs and develops corporate websites, provides audio and video webcasting services, and delivers analytics and reporting tools that track trading activities and investor behavior. Q4 aims to improve the effectiveness of investor relations through innovative website solutions and a strong focus on storytelling, making it a trusted partner for over 2,200 prominent brands. Their services are delivered primarily on a subscription basis, utilizing a software-as-a-service model to support the diverse needs of their clients in the capital markets.

Rubikloud

Series B in 2018
Rubikloud Technologies Inc., established in 2013 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, specializes in developing and operating cloud-based enterprise data platforms powered by artificial intelligence (AI). The company caters to global retailers and consumer packaged goods (CPG) industries, offering solutions such as Retail AI for promotion effectiveness, forecasting, and optimization, and CPG AI for demand forecasting and trade promotion optimization. Rubikloud's flagship products include RubiCore, a big data platform for processing disparate data sources, RubiView for automated market and business intelligence reports, and RubiOne for personalized campaign management. The company operates globally with sales offices in the USA, the UK, and Hong Kong, serving multi-billion dollar clients. As of 2020, Rubikloud operates as a subsidiary of Kinaxis Inc.

SportLogiq

Series A in 2017
SportLogiq is a Montreal-based developer of an artificial intelligence–driven sports analytics platform that analyzes games from standard broadcast footage. The system uses computer vision to track the location and actions of every player on the ice, field, or court, translating movement into actionable insights for teams, broadcasters, analysts, and fans. By turning game footage into quantitative data, the platform supports strategy development, viewer engagement, and data-informed storytelling across sports. Founded in 2014, the venture-backed company focuses on enabling organizations to understand game dynamics and enhance performance and coverage.

Assent Compliance

Series B in 2017
Founded in 2005, Assent Compliance specializes in providing software solutions for supply chain sustainability management. Its platform enables complex manufacturers to manage product compliance, trade compliance, and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors within their supply chains. The company's offerings include Global Product Regulatory Software, Environmental Compliance Software, Custom Compliance Survey Software, Inspection Software, and Platform Configuration and Implementation services.

Sensibill

Series A in 2017
Sensibill Inc., established in Toronto, Canada in 2012, operates a cloud-based application that helps users manage and track their spending via receipts. The company's AI-powered platform enables end-users to easily monitor their financial habits while providing financial institutions with personalized insights to assist customers in building healthier finances. Sensibill has reached over 60 million users across North America and the U.K., transforming SKU-level data into actionable insights for both consumers and institutions.

Q4

Series B in 2016
Q4 Inc. is a cloud-based platform that specializes in providing investor relations (IR) and capital market solutions to public companies globally. Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Toronto, Canada, with additional offices in New York, Chicago, and Copenhagen, Q4 offers a comprehensive suite of tools designed to enhance communication and engagement between organizations and their investors. Their flagship product, Q4 Desktop, serves as an all-in-one IR solution that equips clients with the necessary insights and information for effective decision-making. The company designs and develops corporate websites, provides audio and video webcasting services, and delivers analytics and reporting tools that track trading activities and investor behavior. Q4 aims to improve the effectiveness of investor relations through innovative website solutions and a strong focus on storytelling, making it a trusted partner for over 2,200 prominent brands. Their services are delivered primarily on a subscription basis, utilizing a software-as-a-service model to support the diverse needs of their clients in the capital markets.

Assent Compliance

Series A in 2016
Founded in 2005, Assent Compliance specializes in providing software solutions for supply chain sustainability management. Its platform enables complex manufacturers to manage product compliance, trade compliance, and ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) factors within their supply chains. The company's offerings include Global Product Regulatory Software, Environmental Compliance Software, Custom Compliance Survey Software, Inspection Software, and Platform Configuration and Implementation services.

ScribbleLive

Series D in 2015
ScribbleLive is a content cloud provider headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, that specializes in helping companies manage their content lifecycle. Founded in 2008, the company offers a comprehensive platform designed to empower businesses to create premium content at scale. ScribbleLive's services include content strategy, creative services, implementation, integration, and IT support, enabling clients to effectively engage with their audiences. The platform features capabilities for liveblogging, real-time journalism, and on-the-fly storytelling, allowing organizations to leverage data and creativity for impactful content creation. Through its managed services, ScribbleLive provides program and campaign coverage, complete with dashboards and program reporting, ensuring clients can achieve predictable results in their content efforts.
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