The investment will fuel Ascend’s growth as a leading provider of energy transition analytics solutions and comes at a time when advances in AI and manufacturing are pushing the US’ aging energy grid to the brink
BOULDER, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Ascend Analytics (“Ascend”), a leading provider of energy transition analytics solutions, has secured a strategic growth investment led by Rubicon Technology Partners (“Rubicon”), a private equity firm which is focused exclusively on investing in and growing software companies. Rubicon is joined by climate investment firm Galvanize Climate Solutions, which invests in companies and solutions advancing the energy transition, and Silversmith Capital Partners, a technology focused growth equity firm.
The investment will accelerate Ascend’s product innovation and the expansion of its suite of analytics solutions, enhancing the company’s ability to serve energy market stakeholders navigating an increasingly complex power grid. Ascend’s CEO Dr. Gary Dorris, who co-founded the company in 2002, will continue to lead as CEO while also assuming the role of chairman.
Ascend’s products empower utilities, renewable developers, independent power producers, financial institutions, corporations, and other energy market stakeholders to develop, finance, and optimize energy assets in an increasingly complex energy market landscape. This year, utilities in the US have nearly doubled projections for power generation by 2028 in order to accommodate growing demand, sparked by an uptick in manufacturing and an explosion of new data centers, among other factors.
As greater amounts of electricity are generated from renewable sources susceptible to weather-related interruptions, utility providers who can model volatility into their approach have a critical advantage. Ascend’s ability to provide energy analytics in a commercial context allows its customers to translate new, clean power sources into actionable insights and economic opportunities.
Its product suite includes BatterySIMM, recognized as the de facto standard for energy storage modeling and development, PowerSIMM, a resource selection and portfolio management solution, and SmartBidder, an energy storage bidding optimization platform. The company’s existing customer base includes some of the largest utilities and renewables developers in North America and Europe.
“For multiple decades, Ascend’s mission has been to help its customers realize their energy transition objectives,” said Dr. Gary Dorris, CEO and co-founder of Ascend. “Having now reached an inflection point in the transition, this partnership allows Ascend to grow at the speed and scale necessary to meet the moment. We are so proud of everything our team has accomplished, and although we are veterans in the sector, it feels like we are just getting started.”
“From day one working with Gary and team, their unmatched expertise and thought leadership in an incredibly dynamic energy market were unmistakable,” said Alison Beyer, Principal at Rubicon Technology Partners. “The energy market turns to Ascend for its most complex problems, given its highly differentiated suite of software and services. We couldn’t be more excited to partner with Ascend to continue innovating and advancing its products to meet customers’ evolving needs.”
“Even before meeting Gary and his team, we understood that Ascend was unique, having established itself as the go-to provider for utility-scale storage software, intelligence, and valuation solutions,” said Saloni Multani, Co-Head of Innovation + Expansion at Galvanize Climate Solutions. “Ascend’s superior information and analytics capabilities are distinctly suited to support power market participants in navigating complex grid dynamics driven by escalating load growth, distributed generation, and higher penetration of renewables.”
“We back founders who know their markets so well that they find the gaps and seams to build big, important businesses where others didn’t see the possibility. We believe Gary is just that type of visionary founder and we are thrilled to be joining our friends at Rubicon and Galvanize in supporting him during the next phase of Ascend’s journey,” said Todd MacLean, Managing Partner at Silversmith Capital Partners.
About Ascend Analytics
Ascend Analytics, an innovative leader at the forefront of the energy transition, offers advanced software and consulting services that capture the evolving and real-time dynamics of energy markets. The company provides its customers with optimized and comprehensive decision analysis that covers everything from long-term planning to real-time operations in the electric power supply industry. The company is based in Boulder, Colorado.
For more information about Ascend please visit www.ascendanalytics.com
About Rubicon Technology Partners
Rubicon Technology Partners invests in enterprise software companies with proven products and talented management teams to help grow and scale their businesses. Rubicon enables companies to adapt to the changing requirements of their businesses as they grow and scale using a set of proprietary processes, best practices and a portfolio-wide engagement model. Rubicon has over $3.8 billion in assets under management and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado with additional offices in New Haven, Connecticut and Palo Alto, California. Rubicon’s experience, collaborative approach, capital, and culture make it a compelling partner for software companies seeking to accelerate the growth, profitability and strategic value of their platform.
For more information about Rubicon please visit www.rubicontp.com.
About Galvanize Climate Solutions
Galvanize Climate Solutions (“Galvanize”) is a climate-focused investment firm which invests in companies and solutions advancing the energy transition. Founded by Katie Hall and Tom Steyer in 2021, Galvanize invests across asset classes including venture capital and growth equity, public equities, and real estate. The firm’s investment strategies are supported by in-house policy, science and technology, and impact measurement expertise, with the aim of driving material climate impact and generating long-term value.
For more information about Galvanize please visit www.galvanizeclimate.com.
About Silversmith Capital Partners
Founded in 2015, Silversmith Capital Partners is a Boston-based growth equity firm with $3.3 billion of capital under management. Silversmith’s mission is to partner with and support the best entrepreneurs in growing profitable technology and healthcare companies. Representative investments include ActiveCampaign, Appfire, Apryse, DistroKid, impact.com, Iodine Software, LifeStance Health, Onbe, and Webflow.
For more information about Silversmith, including a full list of portfolio investments, visit www.silversmith.com or follow the firm on LinkedIn.
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