Chicago-based legal and compliance company Ascent has secured $19 million in Series B funding, according to company database Crunchbase, topping the city’s recent funding headlines. The cash infusion was announced Nov. 5 and led by Drive Capital.

According to its Crunchbase profile, "Ascent provides a cloud-based platform that helps financial services firms to keep their businesses compliant. Its platform analyzes business activities, informs about potential compliance obligations and assists in tracking and complying with relevant requirements. Ascent's cloud-based solutions include issue tracking and management, industry reference and research materials and compliance manual documentation."

The five-year-old startup has raised three previous funding rounds, including a $6 million Series A round in 2018.

The round brings total funding raised by Chicago companies in artificial intelligence over the past 90 days to $25 million. The local artificial intelligence industry has produced 22 funding rounds over the past year, yielding a total of $287 million in venture funding.

In other local funding news, real estate and procurement company Purchasing Platform announced a $3.5 million Series A funding round on Oct. 17, led by Method Capital.

According to Crunchbase, "Purchasing Platform is an online marketplace dedicated to the real estate industry. By centralizing procurement through our B2B marketplace, we help companies drive compliance, transparency and increased productivity by simplifying the purchasing process. Our customizable eMarketplace offers industry-specific vendors and volume-based pricing for growing businesses."

Founded in 2012, the company has raised six previous rounds, including a $720,469 round in 2016.

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