• Ascension Fund III deal number 2, Juniver
• Emma Steele on the importance of financial inclusion
• Interview with Portman Wils, Co-Founder of Wagestream
• Invite to Climate and Sustainability Syndicate event
• The Future of AI: Will OpenAI Make a Deal with Apple?
• Freya at the Founder’s Social event
• Zen Educate, Series B raise
• Ascension Partners at Super Venture
• Portfolio News

Ascension Fund III’s deal number 2, Juniver 

Juniver’s vision is to transform the $66bn eating disorder market through an innovative, first-of-its-kind digital solution. With its AI-powered assistant providing on-demand help through urges, personalised insights from health data, peer support, and telemedicine care, it aims to reduce eating disorder symptoms, lower relapse rates, and maintain healthy eating habits for all. 🚀

🔍 Why Juniver stands out

• Superstar founder: Emilie Faure has impressed us from day one with her visionary approach and unwavering dedication to addressing the challenges of eating disorders through technology.
• Broad & smart routes to market: including primary care practitioners, university distribution, paediatrics, and step-down therapy/triage for residential treatment centres.
• Unique value propositions: by providing a low-cost app with a personalised AI-powered assistant, Juniver can offer accessible and effective care, particularly for lower-income individuals who are disproportionately affected by the costs associated with eating disorders.

Juniver’s commitment to improving access to care and supporting long-term health and wellbeing, particularly for lower-income consumers, aligns perfectly with our investment thesis. We are excited to be on this journey and support Juniver in its US expansion.

Emma Steele, Ascension Partner on the importance of financial inclusion in the workplace

Check out this insightful video featuring Emma, Ascension Partner, discussing the vital responsibility businesses have in caring for their employees. This interview, conducted by our portfolio company Wagestream—a financial wellbeing app for frontline workers—offers valuable perspectives on employee wellbeing. Don’t miss it! Click here to watch.

Interview with Portman Wills, Co-Founder of Wagestream 

As early supporters of Wagestream, we are highly impressed and excited by its mission and recently had a conversation with Portman – watch the video to learn more about progress to date and upcoming plans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu7EO1s0iiY 

Additionally, visit our website to explore more interviews with inspiring founders such as Charlotte Bax of Captur, Pahini Pandya of Panakeia, and Richard Dana of Tembo.

Climate and Sustainability Syndicate Event 

On 4th June, our Syndicate team will host an event showcasing five exciting companies. If you are a potential angel investor or part of a family office, please register your interest here for more details. Spaces are limited.

Presenting companies 

• Untap Health: wastewater surveillance for early detection of infectious diseases
• Flexergy: efficient hydrogen gas compression and transfer systems
• Zentraxa: custom biomaterials for sustainable applications
• Stablepharma: fridge-free vaccine technology
• Oxwash: carbon-neutral commercial laundry services

Don’t miss this opportunity to discover innovative solutions in action!

The Future of AI: Will OpenAI Make a Deal with Apple?

Read our COO Rakesh Murria’s latest blog post where he dives deep into the most exciting developments in AI. From OpenAI’s groundbreaking ambitions to the potential game-changing collaboration with Apple.

Freya on a panel for Founder’s Social Investor event 

Freya, our Associate at Ascension Fund III, recently participated in a panel at the Founder’s Social event. This event connected female founders with investors, creating valuable networking opportunities. During her talk, Freya emphasised the importance of building and maintaining strong relationships with investors, even when the initial response is a no.

Zen Educate, Series B raise

Huge Congratulations to Slava and his Team at Zen Educate on their $37 Million Series B Raise – see TechCrunch piece here. Zen Educate is on a mission to change the world of education recruitment. Using an online platform, schools have access to hundreds of profiles of fully-vetted teachers and support staff who they can book at a click of a button. Slava, the founder of Zen Educate, shared his excitement:

“The average incumbent industry take rate is between 35% and 38%,” Kremerman said. “We’re a little over half that. As a result, teachers earn more and schools save money.”…

“I’m delighted that we’ll have the resources to continue hypergrowth across both the US and UK in our mission to impact the lives of millions of students.”

Ex-footballer and Zen Educate brand ambassador Jermaine Jenas, with founders Slava Kremerman (left) and Oren Cohen (right)

Portfolio News

• Josephine, founder of Sojo, and Jacob, founder of Epoch, have been listed among the Sunday Times “25 Most Inspiring People Aged 30 and Under in the UK and Ireland 2024”
• The OneLondon eMHA programme, supported by approximately £5 million in NHS England frontline digitisation funding, will replace current paper-based processes with Thalamos software to streamline admission
• Nook wins ‘Emerging App of the Year’ at the Xero Awards 
• Oxwash recently hosted Manchester City Football Club’s on-site laundry team at its new facility, the Big Blue 
• Switchee CEO, Tom Robins, discusses housing and unlocking the potential of data. Check out the conversation here

Ascension Ascension is an early-stage venture capital firm built by exited entrepreneurs to back the next generation of tech and impact founders. Since 2015, Ascension has invested in 150+ start-ups across its (S)EIS & Institutional funds – our specialist approach and extensive sector reach allow us to identify and scale pioneering tech enterprises.

With over £100m under management, Ascension has been London’s most active VC over the past decade (Beauhurst data), with a particular focus on backing impact businesses leveraging the power of technology to solve some of the world’s biggest problems. For more information, ascension.vc.