THE EX-MCKINSEY TEAM BRINGING AI INTO CONSULTING WITH $2M RAISE

Ascentra Labs, a startup building AI tools for strategy professionals, has raised $2 million in pre-seed funding led by NAP (formerly Cavalry Ventures). The round includes participation from prominent founder-angels, including Alan Chang (CEO, Fuse) and Fredrik Hjelm (CEO, Voi).

Despite being a +$250B market, consulting has remained "stubbornly manual" compared to sectors like law and accounting. Ascentra is changing this by automating specific private equity workflows where analysis is most repeatable.

Founded in London in early 2025 by Paritosh Devbhandari (ex-McKinsey) and Oliver Thurston (ex-Mathison AI), the company counters the narrative that AI will eliminate the profession. Devbhandari argues that while the role will evolve, the industry isn't going away, noting that "the best solutions will come from people within the industry building products around the work they know."

Thurston, the company's CTO, acknowledges that while consulting workflows are "uniquely complex," the sector is poised for rapid transformation. He predicts the industry "is going to look completely different in 5 years’ time" as these tools mature.

In just months, Ascentra has gained traction with three of the world’s top five consulting firms. With over 80% of customers based in the US, early adopters report 2-4x faster execution of due diligence workflows.

Stefan Walter, Managing Partner at NAP, noted that Ascentra combines deep industry understanding with the technical mastery required to finally reshape the sector. "AI won’t replace consultants," Walter commented, "but consultants using Ascentra might."

The funding will support product suite development and continued expansion in the US.