The combination brings QVentures' First Cheque strategy and portfolio into Ascension's established early-stage investment fund, with its 150+ company portfolio and 10-year track record.
London, 29 September 2026: QVentures today announced that it has agreed to be acquired by Ascension, bringing together two established UK early-stage investment platforms and creating a broader proposition for founders and investors.
Founded and led by Managing Partner Robert Walsh, QVentures has spent the past decade backing ambitious UK entrepreneurs, participating in more than 100 investments and leading 46 funding rounds.
Central to QVentures' development has been its First Cheque strategy, established to identify and back exceptional founders at the earliest stages of company creation. The strategy has generated strong performance, with its leading First Cheque fund achieving top-decile performance.
The combination with Ascension will provide QVentures portfolio companies with access to the resources and network of a significantly larger early-stage investment platform, while providing investors with access to a broader portfolio and pipeline of investment opportunities.
Ascension is one of the UK's most active early-stage investors, backing companies from pre-seed and seed and supporting founders as they grow and raise subsequent rounds of capital.
Robert Walsh will continue to support the top-performing QVentures funds following the transaction, providing continuity for founders and investors and working alongside Ascension to support the portfolio's development.
Robert Walsh, Managing Partner of QVentures, said:
“Over the past ten years, it has been an enormous honour and privilege to build QVentures and to support some of the UK's most ambitious entrepreneurs. We have led 46 funding rounds and participated in more than 100 investments, and I am incredibly proud of the businesses, founders and investment community we have helped to build.
This transaction is about the next chapter. Ascension shares our belief in backing exceptional founders early, but brings the scale, resources, and broader investment platform that can help our companies go even further. For our investors, it creates access to a significantly larger portfolio and pipeline of opportunities. For our founders, it means a bigger, well-resourced backer as they grow.
I am particularly pleased that I will continue to support our companies. I care deeply about the founders we have backed and the investors who have supported us, and I look forward to deepening those relationships as part of the broader Ascension ecosystem.”
Jean de Fougerolles, Managing Partner at Ascension, said:
“QVentures has built an impressive early-stage investment platform and a strong community of founders and investors over the past decade. Robert and the team have demonstrated a consistent ability to identify and support promising companies at the beginning of their journey. Bringing QVentures into Ascension strengthens our combined platform and expands what we can offer both founders and investors. We are delighted to welcome the QVentures portfolio and community to Ascension.”
The transaction represents the culmination of a decade of development for QVentures and the beginning of a new phase for its portfolio and investment community.
By combining QVentures' track record, First Cheque strategy and network with Ascension's scale, infrastructure and broader portfolio, the enlarged platform will be positioned to provide founders with greater support from first institutional capital through subsequent stages of growth.
ENDS
About QVentures
QVentures is a London-based venture capital investment platform that has participated in more than 100 investments and led 46 funding rounds over the past decade. QVentures has focused on identifying and backing high-growth businesses and has developed its First Cheque strategy to support exceptional founders at the earliest stages of their development.
About 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 and Institutional funds; our specialist approach and extensive sector reach allow us to identify and scale pioneering tech enterprises.
With over £150m under management, Ascension has been one of London's most active VCs over the past decade.