Ascentra Labs, a London- and New York–based startup building AI tools for consultants and corporate strategy teams, has raised $2 million in seed funding led by NAP, with participation from founder-angels including Fuse CEO Alan Chang and Voi CEO Fredrik Hjelm.
Founded in early 2025 by former McKinsey consultant Paritosh Devbhandari and former Mathison AI Head of ML Oliver Thurston, Ascentra Labs is focused on automating and accelerating high-repeatability tasks in private equity consulting, one of the industry’s most process-driven segments. While sectors like law and accounting have seen significant AI adoption, consulting remains relatively untouched despite being a $250 billion market.
Ascentra’s early traction includes adoption by three of the world’s top five consulting firms, with more than 80% of customers based in the U.S. Early users report 2–4x faster execution of due diligence workflows, signaling a shift in how project teams operate. The new capital will be used to expand the company’s product suite, grow engineering capabilities, and accelerate U.S. expansion.
KEY QUOTES:
“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.”
Oliver Thurston, Co-Founder & CTO, Ascentra Labs
“People love to talk about how AI is going to remove the need for consultants, and I disagree. Yes, the role will change, but I don’t think the industry goes away. I think the best solutions will come from people within the industry building products around the work they know.”
Paritosh Devbhandari, Co-Founder & CEO, Ascentra Labs
“While most knowledge work has been reshaped by new technology, consulting has remained stubbornly manual. The Ascentra team combines deep industry understanding with technical mastery to finally change that. AI won’t replace consultants, but consultants using Ascentra might.”
Stefan Walter, Co-Founder & Managing Partner, NAP
