Ascentra Wins Funds to Bring AI to Consulting Sector

Ascentra Labs, which develops AI tools for consultants and corporate strategy professionals, has secured $2 million in seed funding, with which to expand its product suite and support its expansion in the US.

The firm says consulting has been neglected in terms of AI solution offerings, in comparison with the likes of law and accounting. Ascentra aims to put this right by building products to automate and accelerate specific tasks associated with the profession, with a particular focus on the private equity consulting space.

Founded in London a year ago and known briefly as Sherpa, Ascentra Labs is led by former McKinsey consultant Paritosh Devbhandari, and Oliver Thurston, former Head of ML at Mathison AI. It claims to already work for three of the world's top five consulting firms.

The funding round was led by Berlin-based pre-seed and seed VC investor NAP (formerly Cavalry Ventures), with participation from a number of founder-angels including Alan Chang, CEO of Fuse and formerly CRO of financial app Revolut; and Fredrik Hjelm, CEO of Voi.

CTO Thurston (pictured) says of the challenge facing the sector: 'Consulting workflows are uniquely complex and difficult to build products around. It's not surprising the space hasn't changed yet. This will change though, and there's no doubt that the industry is going to look completely different in 5 years' time.'

Web site: www.ascentralabs.com .