Startup · France
Ascendance
HQ Toulouse, FranceFounded 201851-200 employeesUpdated
Decarbonizing air transport with hybrid electric propulsion technology and sustainable aircraft.
Funding6 rounds · ~$68.5M + €2M
- Equity raised
- ~$68.5M + €2M
- Debt, secondaries & grants
- ~$14.3M
- Latest
- ~$14.3MGrant · Apr 3, 2026
| Announced | Stage | Amount | Valuation | Lead investors | Other investors | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 2026 | Grant | ~$14.3M | — | France 2030 | — | Reported |
| Mar 27, 2023 | Series A | ~$22.5M | — | — | ARIS Occitanie, CELAD, Celeste Management, Expansion Aerospace Ventures, French Tech Souveraineté, Habert Dassault Finance, IRDI, M-Fund, SC Mahé, Snaw Ventures | Confirmed |
| Mar 27, 2023 | Series B | ~$22.5M | — | — | — | Reported |
| Sep 16, 2021 | Seed | ~$11.8M | — | — | — | Confirmed |
| Sep 15, 2021 | Undisclosed | ~$11.8M | — | — | Celeste Management, Habert Dassault Finance, IRDI, Kima Ventures, M-Fund | Confirmed |
| 2020 | Seed | €2.0M | — | Habert Dassault Finance | — | Reported |
- GrantLed by France 2030~$14.3MApr 3, 2026
- Series AWith ARIS Occitanie, CELAD, Celeste Management, Expansion Aerospace Ventures, French Tech Souveraineté, Habert Dassault Finance, IRDI, M-Fund, SC Mahé, Snaw VenturesConfirmed~$22.5MMar 27, 2023
- Series B~$22.5MMar 27, 2023
- SeedConfirmed~$11.8MSep 16, 2021
- ~$11.8MSep 15, 2021
- SeedLed by Habert Dassault Finance€2.0M2020
Raised counts equity rounds; debt, secondary sales and grants are totaled separately. Amounts in other currencies are converted at the announcement month's average rate. A ~ marks an estimated or converted amount.
Systems5
- ATEA Hybrid Electric VTOLHybrid-electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft for transport and surveillance.
- Hybrid Core Unit (HCU)Electrical distribution unit linking aircraft propulsion systems with power sources.
- Hybrid Operating System (HOS)Energy-management software and controller for hybrid aircraft propulsion.
- STERNA Hybrid PackHybrid-electric propulsion pack for aircraft.
- STERNA Hybrid Pack for UAVHybrid-electric propulsion pack for uncrewed aircraft.
Newest unveiled first. Systems that belong to a government program link to the program page, where variants, costs and contracts are.
Capabilities1
| Technology | Role | Maturity | TRL | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aircraft and aeronautics | Developer | — | — | classify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Hybrid electric propulsion and sustainable aircraft for air transport, with no defense use stated. | Reported |
- Developerclassify_sectors run 37, haiku, taxonomy 2026-10-18b: Hybrid electric propulsion and sustainable aircraft for air transport, with no defense use stated.—Reported
Maturity and TRL describe this organization's work; the field-wide maturity is on each technology's page.
People4
| Person | Role |
|---|---|
| Benoit Ferran · LinkedIn ↗ | Co-founder & CTO |
| Jean-Christophe Lambert · LinkedIn ↗ | Chief Executive Officer & Co-founder |
| Thibault Baldivia · LinkedIn ↗ | Founder |
| Thibault Baldivia · LinkedIn ↗ | Chief Customer Officer |
Sources15
Show all 15 sources and supporting evidence
Profile3
- 1
Sixth-Domain · Supports Organization · country, Organization · kind
“{"country": "France", "hq_iso2": "FR", "id": "aef90fc2-31d5-4bfb-a1d1-73562014ae45"}”
- 2
Ascendance · Supports Organization · description, Organization · name, Organization · website
“Decarbonizing air transport with hybrid electric propulsion technology and sustainable aircraft.”
- 3
LinkedIn · Supports Organization · employee range, Organization · founded year, Organization · hq city, Organization · hq region, Organization · linkedin url
“employee_range: 51-200 (profile: 51-200 employees)”
Systems4
- 4CompanyAscendance | Atea
Ascendance · Supports System
“ATEA Hybrid Electric VTOL Innovation The first aircraft powered by our STERNA Hybrid Pack, for passenger transport, medical, cargo and surveillance missions. Learn more [Data sheet](/contact) [Contact us”
- 5CompanyDefence
Ascendance · Supports System
“Hybrid Core Unit (HCU) High performance electrical hub to link electric systems with energy sources Aviation-Grade”
- 6
Ascendance · Supports System
“STERNA Hybrid Pack for aircraft This modular solution natively integrates a propulsion battery* designed specifically for hybrid-electric aviation, an energy management system, and an electrical distribution unit. The system is engineered to combine performance, energy efficiency, and compliance with stringent aviation certification requirements”
- 7
Ascendance · Supports System
“STERNA Hybrid Pack for UAV STERNA Hybrid Pack for UAVs has been specifically designed to address drones’ needs from small UAVs (c. 25kg MTOW) up to several-tons UAVs (such as heavy cargo UAV able to carry several hundreds of payload”
Funding7
- 8
Le Journal des Entreprises · Apr 3, 2026 · Supports Funding round · amount
“annonce un financement de 12,2 millions d'euros, accordé sur quatre ans”
- 9
Business Air News · Mar 30, 2023 · Supports Funding round
“has raised €21 million from French Tech Souveraineté”
- 10
Bpifrance · Mar 27, 2023 · Supports Funding round · amount, Organization · ownership
“réalise une levée de fonds de 21 millions d’euros”
- 11
Ascendance Flight Technologies · Sep 16, 2021 · Supports Funding round · amount
“Ascendance Flight Technologies a annoncé avoir clôturé une levée de fonds de 10 millions d'euros soutenue par Habert Dassault Finance, Celeste Management, M Capital, Kima Ventures et IRDI”
- 12
Capital Finance (Les Echos) · Supports Funding round · amount
“Des entrepreneurs du monde de l’industrie complètent ce tour de table qui fait suite à une première levée d’amorçage de 2 M€ menée en 2020.”
- 13
Ascendance Flight Technologies · Supports Funding round · amount
“Ascendance Flight Technologies has announced it has closed a €10M funding round backed by Habert Dassault Finance, Celeste Management, M Capital, Kima Ventures and IRDI.”
- 14
Ascendance Flight Technologies · Supports Funding round · amount
“Toulouse, March 27, 2023 - Ascendance Flight Technologies, a startup dedicated to sustainable aviation, has raised €21 million.”
People1
- 15
Crunchbase · Supports Organization · hq city, Organization · linkedin url, Organization · x url, Role
“hq_city: Toulouse”
Each fact on this page is attached to the sources that support it. Archived copies are linked when we keep one.