Our Roots

Ascend got started in 2001 as a clinical reference laboratory in Silicon Valley. Our company was entirely self-funded and never took outside investment, which ensured that we would always make decisions that were best for customers and patients – not shareholders.

Our focus on continuous improvement and innovation led to rapid, sustained growth . More than 20 years later, we’re a truly national organization with multiple, growing laboratory and research capabilities. We recently moved into our flagship facility in Sunnyvale, CA, a 100,000 square-foot state-of-the-art laboratory that showcases the latest technologies. In addition to our main laboratory in Sunnyvale, CA, we have 2 offices in Colorado. 

Our innovation and agility have enabled ongoing expansion and evolution. In 2020, for example, we were able to rapidly scale up a significant COVID-19 testing and research program. We’re proud to be partnering with institutions like Stanford University  in important pandemic-related research, including the publication of several academic papers in prestigious journals like The Lancet. We’ve come a long way, and our best work remains ahead of us.

Our Future – and Yours

We’re proud of everything we’ve achieved in a relatively short amount of time. But we’ll never rest on past accomplishments. Instead, we’re doubling and tripling down on our mission and the pursuit of the next greatest things – in processing, in reporting, in customer service, in research – to help providers and patients.