Regtech firm Ascent on the rise with $6 million funding round

Chicago-based regtech company Ascent Technologies has managed to attract an impressive list of investors for a $6 million funding round, as the company continues to develop an AI and natural language-based method for managing compliance requirements. The technology turns regulatory data into action points, tailored to meet end user firms’ specific requirements.

The funding round follows successful completion of an international pilot scheme looking at how the technology might be used to simplify implementation of compliance requirements related to MiFID II. The pilot was completed in partnership with ING, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and legal firm Pinsent Masons; and observed by the FCA. On that occasion, the software apparently absorbed 30,000 pages of MiFID rules in a few minutes.

Investors include former governor of the US Federal Reserve Randal Kroszner, financial services entrepreneurs and investors David Lehmann, Mark Fields and James Gray, University of Chicago professor of entrepreneurship Steve Kaplan; and two venture capital groups, Alsop Louie and Temerity Capital Partners.

“What sets Ascent apart in our technological capacity to quickly analyse regulatory text, as well as the customisation provided for each customer,” said Ascent CEO and co-founder Brian Clark. “[Regtech] … generally aggregates data but requires users to build regulatory compliance programs manually. Ascent intelligently curates the information required for your firm and updates it automatically, creating an elegant, simple and comprehensive compliance process.” The company is actively engaged with a range of regulators in different jurisdictions as it develops solutions to help end users tackle a range of different regulations.

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