What Ascend Analytics does

Ascend Analytics is a Boulder, Colorado-based energy analytics software and consulting company serving the power industry. The firm operates an integrated product ecosystem of six core SaaS platforms: Market Intelligence (AscendMI) for subscription price and market forecasts across all US ISOs plus select European markets; PowerVAL for asset planning and valuation across approximately 50,000 US nodes covering solar, storage, wind, hybrid, and thermal projects; SmartBidder for AI-assisted battery energy storage bidding and operations; PowerSIMM for portfolio management, valuation, and integrated resource planning (IRP); Ascend Energy Exchange, a clean energy asset M&A and PPA marketplace where Ascend acts as exclusive financial advisor; and Ascend Power Procurement for power supply contract evaluation. EnSurance, a revenue insurance product for merchant storage, layers as an add-on. Underlying these products is a proprietary Opportunity Cost Forecasting Framework that integrates physical conditions with financial outcomes to model renewable-rich price formation differently than traditional production cost tools.

The company serves four primary buyer segments: utilities (including municipal and public power), renewable developers and independent power producers, investors and banks, and corporate energy buyers, with adjacent use cases in community solar/distributed energy and data center siting. Revenue is generated through annual SaaS subscriptions (Premium, Standard, and Basic tiers differentiated by ISO coverage), individual market reports ($100–$20,000), paid and free webinars, professional consulting (IRP, procurement strategy, risk advisory), and transaction advisory fees from the Energy Exchange marketplace. Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales for large accounts, inside sales for mid-market, and a self-serve e-commerce storefront for reports and webinars.

Ascend claims its analytics underpin $50+ billion in project financing assessments, and PowerVAL is reported as trusted across hundreds of deals and more than $1 billion in transaction value across all US ISOs, with EnSurance based on 1 GW of storage transactions. Marquee customers include NextEra Energy, EDF, ENGIE, Enel, Ameren, Clearway, Recurrent Energy, Amazon, ISO New England, NYPA, LADWP, Silicon Valley Clean Energy, American Municipal Power, and Ørsted. The firm is private, headquartered in Boulder, employs 101–250 people, and received a strategic growth investment in March 2024 led by Rubicon Technology Partners with Galvanize Climate Solutions and Silversmith Capital Partners; in March 2026 it appointed Matt Tormollen as CEO, with founder Dr. Gary Dorris moving to Executive Chair & Chief Economist.

Name

Ascend Analytics

Legal name

Ascend Analytics

Website

https://ascendanalytics.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Ascend Analytics is a Boulder-based energy analytics software and consulting company whose PowerVAL, AscendMI, SmartBidder, PowerSIMM, Energy Exchange, and Power Procurement platforms deliver forecasting, asset valuation, and AI-assisted battery optimization to utilities, developers, banks, and corporate energy buyers across all US ISOs and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Energy Analytics Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Balancing & Ancillary Services Optimization / Automated Bidding (Algo Trading) (EUAGAKAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ancillary Services Aggregation & Bidding Optimization (DER/VPP participation) (EUAFALAJ), Energy Systems & Power Engineering Consulting (BPAHAIAG), C&I Energy Brokerage & Aggregation (Buying Groups, Demand Aggregation) (EUAGACAG)

Keywords

• Energy analytics software
• Power market forecasting
• Renewable asset valuation
• Integrated resource planning
• Grid optimization solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscriptions (AscendMI): Annual subscription services for the AscendMI platform offered at Premium, Standard, and Basic tiers. Premium includes all platform fundamentals for the entire US with refreshed/recurring market forwards, hub/nodal revenue summaries, raw data, online access, geospatial tools with togglable data layers, consulting hours, and access to webinars/workshops. Standard includes select portions for four specific ISOs/RTOs. Basic includes select portions for two specific ISOs/RTOs.
2. Individual Market Reports: Detailed market intelligence reports delivered as PDF files covering specific power markets including CAISO, ERCOT, ISO-NE, SPP, MISO, PJM, NYISO, Great Britain, and Netherlands. Reports include full description of assumptions, inputs, outputs, geospatial patterns, and market dynamics. Price points range from free to $20,000 USD per report.
3. Webinars and Knowledge Videos: Market outlook webinars and knowledge videos offered for free or at $100 price point, covering specific power market dynamics, forecasts, and strategic insights for generators, investors, and LSEs.
4. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services including integrated resource planning (IRP), energy resource procurement, market intelligence strategy, and portfolio & risk management advisory. The company provides IRP consulting expertise alongside its PowerSIMM software.
5. Energy Asset Advisory (Ascend Energy Exchange): Exclusive financial advisory services for clean energy asset transactions, including M&A facilitation and PPA structuring. Ascend serves as exclusive financial advisor through its Ascend Energy Exchange platform for project sales and acquisitions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Ascend Analytics develops and sells a proprietary software ecosystem for the power industry, combining SaaS analytics platforms (Market Intelligence/AscendMI, PowerVAL, SmartBidder, PowerSIMM, Ascend Energy Exchange, and Ascend Power Procurement) with professional consulting services for integrated resource planning, asset valuation, portfolio management, and risk advisory. The platforms integrate physical grid conditions with financial outcomes to deliver price forecasts, nodal revenue modeling across approximately 50,000 US nodes, AI-powered battery storage bidding, and clean energy asset transaction support for utilities, developers, investors, banks, and corporate energy buyers across North America and Europe.

Product overview

Ascend Analytics offers a unified product ecosystem combining six core SaaS software platforms with professional consulting services for the power industry. The core platforms include: Market Intelligence™ (AscendMI) for subscription-based market forecasts and data; PowerVAL™ for energy asset valuation and planning; SmartBidder™ for AI-powered battery storage optimization and bidding; PowerSIMM™ for portfolio management and resource planning; Ascend Energy Exchange™ for clean energy asset transactions; and Ascend Power Procurement™ for contract optimization. These are complemented by consulting services for integrated resource planning, energy procurement, and risk management. The platform serves utilities, merchant operators, corporates, electric retailers, investors, banks, and developers across North America and Europe, with forecasts underpinning over $50 billion in project financing assessments.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PowerVAL: Next-generation software platform for energy asset planning and valuation covering solar, storage, wind, hybrid, and thermal projects
• SmartBidder
• PowerSIMM
• Ascend Energy Exchange
• Ascend Power Procurement
• Market Intelligence (AscendMI)

Products and services

• Market Intelligence™ (AscendMI)
• PowerVAL™
• SmartBidder™
• PowerSIMM™
• Ascend Energy Exchange™
• Ascend Power Procurement™
• EnSurance™
• Integrated Resource Planning Consulting
• Energy Resource Procurement Consulting
• Portfolio and Risk Management Advisory

Quantifiable outcome

• $50 billion+ in project financing assessments supported by Ascend analytics
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ØrstedminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026Ascend Analytics served as exclusive financial advisor to ESA Solar Energy in the sale of the 150 MW Salzburg battery energy storage project in Michigan to Ørsted, through its Ascend Energy Exchange platform. The transaction supports Ørsted's strategic growth ambitions in the U.S. storage market.
• American Municipal Power (AMP)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 January 2026Ascend Analytics was selected by American Municipal Power (AMP) following a competitive process to support integrated resource planning (IRP) needs for AMP's portfolio of over 130 public power community members serving approximately 665,000 customers across nine states. Ascend provides its PowerSIMM software and IRP consulting expertise to help navigate anticipated changes to the electric grid from load growth and shifting supply dynamics.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Energy Exemplar: Provider of PLEXOS, the leading power market simulation and optimization platform used by utilities, IPPs, and regulators globally. Directly comparable to PowerSIMM and PowerVAL as foundational asset valuation and production cost modeling software for power markets.

Broad incumbents

• Wood Mackenzie: Global energy research and consultancy covering renewables, power markets, and commodities with deep data subscriptions (Lens). Overlaps Ascend's market intelligence and asset valuation offerings but serves a broader upstream-to-downstream energy value chain.
• S&P Global Commodity Insights: Platts and S&P Global's energy data, benchmarks, and analytics franchise covering power, renewables, and commodities. Competitor in subscription-based market intelligence and price forecasting across US and global power markets.
• BloombergNEF: Bloomberg's energy transition research arm providing renewable project databases, market outlooks, and policy analysis. Comparable to AscendMI for institutional subscribers; broader in scope across all energy transition themes.
• ICF International: Consulting and analytics firm with deep energy markets practice serving utilities, regulators, and developers. Overlaps Ascend's consulting and IRP advisory offerings at much larger scale across multiple end markets.
• Guidehouse (Energy, Sustainability & Infrastructure): Global consultancy with significant power markets practice inherited from Navigant. Directly comparable to Ascend's consulting arm; Ascend's Chief Delivery Officer Dr. Shalom Goffri previously led Guidehouse's power markets team, signaling technology and talent overlap.

Emerging players

• Stem Inc: AI-driven storage optimization and virtual power plant operator offering managed services and software for distributed energy resources. Comparable to SmartBidder's AI bidding focus but typically bundles hardware, services, and software in a vertically integrated model.
• Fluence: Joint venture between Siemens and AES providing battery storage hardware with embedded optimization software (MosaicOS). Adjacent to SmartBidder in storage optimization but primarily a storage OEM with software bundled at the controller level.
• GridBeyond: AI-powered energy optimization platform for C&I and utility-scale storage, demand response, and renewable assets across global markets. Closely comparable to SmartBidder's algorithmic bidding for storage and DER, particularly in European geographies.
• REsurety: Renewable energy analytics and risk management platform offering revenue forecasting, asset valuation, and risk-transfer products for wind, solar, and storage. Closely comparable to PowerVAL and EnSurance with similar focus on merchant revenue uncertainty.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ascend-analytics
• Xx.com/ascendanalytics

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Ascend Analytics