About Ascen
Ascen is a Technology company based in Boston (United States) founded in 2018 by Francis Larson, and was acquired by Upwork in August 2025. Online HRMS portal for temporary workforce. Ascen has raised $300 thousand across 2 funding rounds from investors including Upwork and Y Combinator. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Francis Larson. Its website ascen.com draws about 38 thousand monthly visits. Ascen offers products and services including Employer of Record, Agent of Record, and Pay and Bill Software. Its focus areas include Enterprise Applications, HRTech, HRMS and Suite. Its legal entity is Ascen Inc. Its competitors include Workday, Kronos and SuccessFactors; 3 of its 3 listed competitors have raised funding.
Company details
Ascen was founded in 2018 in Boston, United States, within the HR technology sector. An online portal is operated for managing temporary workforce, with services including payroll processing, finance tools, and compliance updates tailored to each U.S. state. Integration with existing legacy systems is supported via APIs. Pricing is structured as a percentage of payrolls handled.
Products & Services of Ascen
Ascen offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Employer of Record, Agent of Record, and Pay and Bill Software.
Handles employment compliance and payroll for staffing organizations.
Manages IC classification and payments for contractors.
Facilitates pay and bill processes under client tax ID.
Funding Insights of Ascen
Ascen has successfully raised a total of $300K across 2 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Seed round of $150 thousand completed in March 2019. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $300,000
- Total Rounds 2
- Last Round Seed — $150,000
- First Round $150,000
(Mar 2019)
- Investors Count 1
All 2 funding rounds of Ascen with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2019 | $150,000 | Seed | – | – | |
| Mar 2019 | $150,000 | Seed | – | Y Combinator | – |
2 investors in total: 2 institutional.
Investors in Ascen
Ascen has secured backing from 2 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Upwork and Y Combinator.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Early-stage startups are accelerated via funding and educational programs. | ycombinator.com | Mountain View, United States | ||
Businesses are connected with freelancers via an online marketplace. | 1999 | upwork.com | San Francisco, United States |
Investor details for Ascen
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
People of Ascen
6 people are tracked at Ascen (4 in leadership, 2 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Francis Larson | Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Alexander Altaras | Head of Operations | Leadership |
Lucas Barros | Head Of Engineering | Leadership |
Gabrielle Anderson | Director Of Human Resources | Leadership |
Timothy Goh | Finance & Strategy | Team |
Orjada Gjoka | Software Developer | Team |
Complete people profiles for Ascen
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Timeline of Ascen
4 dated milestones of Ascen across 7 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Ascen is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $150K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Seed, of $150K.
- Exit Acquired by Upwork.
Competitors of Ascen
Ascen has 3 listed competitors in our database, 3 of them funded. They include Workday, Kronos and SuccessFactors.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| workday.com | 2005 | Pleasanton, United States | $352.3M | 11,805 | Cloud-based HR and financial software is delivered to enterprises. | |
| kronos.com | 1977 | Lowell, United States | $855M | 86 | HCM software solutions for enterprise workforce management are provided. | |
| successfactors.com | 2001 | San Francisco, United States | $79.84M | 18,910 | Cloud-based human capital management software is delivered globally. |
Detailed competitors of Ascen
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Ascen
The website of Ascen (ascen.com) receives about 38.4K visits a month.
- Monthly visits38.4K
▼ 10.6% vs previous month
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Ascen. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
staffingagencymavericks.com | staffingagencymavericks.com | 100% | – | ||
| adventtalentgroup.com | 77% | 2.3K | #7,182,061 | View details |
Top companies in HR & Workforce Technology
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Ascen (HR & Workforce Technology) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Anonymous employee reviews and job search platform are operated. | 2007 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 201.5 M | 1,695 | ||
Cloud-based LMS platform for IT industry | 2004 | Farmington, Utah, United States | USD 235.41 M | USD 4.95 M | 1,774 | |
Employee health benefits are facilitated via a cloud-based platform. | 2007 | Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, United States | USD 228.3 M |
Unlock complete access to The Company Check
Get unrestricted viewing across everything we track — from companies and brands to investors, funding rounds, acquisitions, financials, and more.
- Unlimited viewing on all profiles Companies, investors, financials, funding, acquisitions & directors
- Full access to every database India & global coverage, advanced filters and rich profile details
- Always-on access from your team account Single premium plan for everything you see on the portal
Related news about Ascen
Complete news archive for Ascen
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Frequently Asked Questions about Ascen
Ascen was founded in 2018 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Ascen is headquartered in Boston, United States. It is registered at Boston, Massachusetts, United States.
Francis Larson is the CEO of Ascen, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Ascen is a funded company, having raised a total of $300K across 2 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Seed of $150K, raised on Mar 2019.
Ascen was founded in 2018 in Boston, United States, within the HR technology sector. An online portal is operated for managing temporary workforce, with services including payroll processing, finance tools, and compliance updates tailored to each U.S. state. Integration with existing legacy systems is supported via APIs. Pricing is structured as a percentage of payrolls handled.
Ascen's top competitors include Workday, SuccessFactors and Kronos.
Ascen offers Employer of Record, Agent of Record, and Pay and Bill Software.
Ascen has 2 investors. Key investors include Upwork, and Y Combinator.
Ascen operates through Ascen Inc.
Yes. Ascen was acquired by Upwork in August 2025.