When was Ascent founded?

Ascent was founded in 2003 and raised its 1st funding round 19 years after it was founded.

Where is Ascent located?

Ascent is headquartered in San Diego, United States. It is registered at 402 W BROADWAY STE 2000,SAN DIEGO,CA,92101,0.

Who is the current CEO of Ascent?

Ken Ruggiero of Ascent. They have also founded 1 company.

How many employees does Ascent have?

As of Sep 30, 2026, the latest employee count at Ascent is 117.

Is Ascent a funded company?

Ascent is a funded company, having raised a total of $78.1M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a $***** Series B round, raised on Mar 31, 2022.

When was the latest funding round of Ascent?

Ascent's latest funding was a $***** Series C round on Feb 17, 2026, with participation from 0 investor.

Where does Ascent rank among its competitors?

Ascent ranks 1st amongst 32 active competitors, of which 9 are funded. It stands 1st in terms of total funding among its competitors. The most recent competitor to raise funding was Ascent, which secured $45.7M in Feb, 2026.

Who are the top competitors of Ascent?

Ascent's top competitors include Nelnet, Funding U and Finwego. Among them, Ascent secured the most recent funding round in February, 2026.

Ascent - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding & Competitors

Ascent is a series C company based in San Diego (United States), founded in 2003 by Ken Ruggiero. It operates as an Online platform for education loans. Ascent has raised $78.1M in funding. The company has 32 active competitors, including 9 funded and 1 that has exited. Its top competitors include companies like Nelnet, Funding U and Finwego.

Company Details

Online platform for education loans. It offers a platform that enables students to pay for college fees and boot camps. It also provides a partner portal that enables schools and educational institutions to join and provide financing options to the students. It features customized loan options, rewards, scholarships, and more.

Website: www.ascentfunding.com/
Social
Registered Address: 402 W BROADWAY STE 2000,SAN DIEGO,CA,92101,0

Key Metrics

Founded Year

2003

Location

San Diego, United States

Stage

Series C

Total Funding

$78.1M in 3 rounds

Latest Funding Round

Series C, Feb 17, 2026, $*****

Investors

Learn Capital

Ranked

1^st among 32 active competitors

Employee Count

117 as on Sep 30, 2026

Investment & Acquisitions

Ampersand Professionals

Similar Companies

Prodigy Finance & 92 more

View Ascent's full profile

Ascent is associated with 1 legal entity given below:

Legal Entity Name	Date of Incorporation	Revenue	Latest Employee Count	Reports
ASCENT FUNDING, LLC CIN: 32067318991 , United States, Active	May 30, 2018	-	-	-

Ascent has raised a total funding of $78.1M over 3 rounds. Its first funding round was on Mar 31, 2022. Ascent has 1 institutional investor.

Here is the list of recent funding rounds of Ascent:

Date of Funding	Funding Amount	Round Name	Post-Money Valuation	Revenue Multiple	Lead Investors	Other Investors
Feb 17, 2026	3495316	Series C	8650487	4626739	2515008	1921229
Jun 30, 2025	8173171	Series B	8121204	8799876	1445907	7027377
Mar 31, 2022	3751968	Series B	8965358	5621202	1644740	2326644

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View details of Ascent's funding rounds and investors

The founders of Ascent is Ken Ruggiero. Ken Ruggiero is the CEO of Ascent.

Here are the details of Ascent's key team members:

Ken Ruggiero: Co-Founder & CEO of Ascent.

View details of Ascent's Founder profiles and Board Members

Ascent's employee count trend

Ascent has 117 employees as of Sep 26. Here is Ascent's employee count trend over the years:

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Top competitors of Ascent include Nelnet, Funding U and Finwego. Here is the list of Top 10 competitors of Ascent, ranked by Tracxn score:

Rank	Company Details	Short Description	Total Funding	Investors	Tracxn Score
1st	Ascent 2003, San Diego (United States), Series C	Online platform for education loans	$78.1M	Learn Capital	66/100
2nd	Nelnet 1998, Lincoln (United States), Public	Provider of diversified services including loan servicing, payment processing, and technology	-	-	60/100
3rd	Funding U 2015, Atlanta (United States), Series A	Provider of fixed-interest, no-cosigner student loans for undergraduate students	$7.4M	Next Act Fund, The JumpFund & 11 others	51/100
4th	Finwego 2018, Chennai (India), Seed	Platform offering financial solutions	$2.07M	Elevation Capital, MassChallenge & 12 others	44/100
5th	Meritize 2016, Frisco (United States), Series B	Online education loans platform	$20.1M	Colchis Capital Management, Chicago Ventures ... & 13 others	43/100
6th	Lorien Finance 2021, New York City (United States), Seed	Provider of a cross-border fintech platform offering education loans to students	$4.05M	Venture Catalysts, FlatironX & 15 others	42/100
7th	Paramount Capital Group 1997, Conshohocken (United States), Funding Raised	Education loans provider	-	Blue Elephant Capital Management	40/100
8th	Fynn 2019, New York City (United States), Seed	Online platform offering education loans to students	$15M	Susa Ventures, Y Combinator & 16 others	40/100
9th	Blair 2019, San Francisco (United States), Seed	Provider of education loans	$150K	Y Combinator, Zillionize & 6 others	36/100
10th	Juno 2018, Boston (United States), Seed	Online lending marketplace for educational loans	$2.49M	NFX	36/100