ARLINGTON,VA, December 9, 2024 – Ask Sage, Inc., a leading Generative AI platform for government and commercial sectors, today announced it has raised $17 million[1] in a Series A funding round. This latest investment was led by Sapphire Ventures, with participation from Mucker Capital. The new investment will enable Ask Sage to expand its Generative AI offerings, accelerate growth, and strategically expand its workforce.
The Series A round is a testament to Ask Sage’s early successes in its mission to eliminate barriers to Generative AI adoption – particularly across the Department of Defense (DoD), federal agencies, and highly regulated commercial industries. The platform is currently used by more than 30,000 Department of Defense service members and 14,000 government teams, and earlier this year, Ask Sage became the first Generative AI platform to receive a DoD Impact Level 5 (IL5) and FedRAMP High Authority to Operate.
“Support and enthusiasm from Sapphire Ventures and Mucker Capital through the Series A enables us to further extend Ask Sage’s transformative Generative AI capabilities to current and emerging public sector and commercial applications,” said Nicolas Chaillan, founder of Ask Sage and former Chief Software Officer for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force. “With this investment, Ask Sage is poised to scale and enhance its platform and technology to meet customers' security and operational needs.”
Upon completing this fundraising round, Sapphire Ventures’ President Jai Das will join Ask Sage’s Board of Directors.
“The defense industry is experiencing a moment of transformation as it adopts new and innovative technologies to be a leader in national security. Ask Sage is one of those breakthrough solutions, enabling the Department of Defense to fully leverage the powerful capabilities of Gen AI,” said Jai Das, President and Partner at Sapphire Ventures. “I’ve seen what Ask Sage can do and have been impressed with Nic’s ability to navigate the complex federal landscape, obtaining crucial security authority to operate. I believe it’s the team’s deep domain expertise, positive user feedback, and strategic vision that sets them apart and make us excited about the opportunity ahead for the company.”
Mucker Capital also expressed enthusiasm about their participation in the funding round. “We believe in Ask Sage’s mission to democratize access to Generative AI for government and commercial sectors. Their innovative approach and proven track record position them for significant growth, and we are excited to support their journey,” said Erik Rannala, Co-founder and Managing Partner at Mucker Capital.
This funding will help Ask Sage continue to shift how industry and startups are able to work with the U.S. Government, across all agencies and classifications levels. Looking ahead, the focus will continue to be on removing barriers by reducing the time it takes to start working with the government from years to within weeks.
The company plans to hire new talent to bolster its sales, customer success,software development, and HR departments. Additionally, the company will launch a new offering which will be announced in January 2025 to empower startups and innovative companies to navigate security, compliance, and contracting challenges, enabling them to successfully do business with the U.S.government, the DoD, and the Defense Industrial Base, thereby driving technological innovation and national security.
Ask Sage supports the entire Defense Industrial Base. The company has received a FedRAMP High ATO and DISA IL5 PA that is currently being leveraged by several government teams and across the DoD,including five prominent DoD Services, including DHA, DISA, the U.S. Army, the U.S. Air Force, and the Space Force.
[1] The Series A financing round included both primary and secondary transactions.
For more information or to schedule a product demo of Ask Sage’s Generative AI platform, please visit www.asksage.ai.
###About Ask Sage, Inc.
Ask Sage, Inc. is a leading provider of Generative AI solutions, specifically designed to meet the needs of the public sector, defense industrial base, and commercial enterprises. Offering a wide range of both commercial and open-source Large Language Models (LLMs), Ask Sage’s platform is technology-agnostic, enabling teams to leverage the best tools and models that suit their needs. With robust security features, the ability to handle a wide range of data types, and enhanced integrations, AskSage, Inc. is the go-to solution for organizations seeking to optimize their operations and harness the power of AI. www.asksage.ai
About Sapphire
Sapphire is a global software venture capital firm with more than $10 billion in AUM and team members across Austin, London, Menlo Park and San Francisco. For over a decade, Sapphire has partnered with visionary management teams and venture funds to back companies of consequence. Since its founding, Sapphire has invested in more than 170 companies globally resulting in more than 30 Public Listings and 45 acquisitions. The firm’s investment strategies — Sapphire Ventures, Sapphire Partners and Sapphire Sport — are focused on scaling companies and venture funds, elevating them to become category leaders.Sapphire’s Portfolio Growth team of experienced operators delivers a strategic blend of value-add services, tools and resources designed to support portfolio company leaders as they scale. https://sapphireventures.com/
About Mucker Capital
Founded in Santa Monica, California in 2011, Muckerprovides Pre-Seed, Seed and Series A capital and support for startups outside Silicon Valley. Learn more at https://mucker.com
