Apr. 22—Ascend Performance Materials, which has a plant in Decatur, filed for a Chapter 11 reorganization bankruptcy Monday to restructure its finances. Ascend has over 20 locations worldwide.

Other deals this year, besides Ascend Elements’ $542 million, include: Redwood Materials’ $1 billion D round, Nth Cycle’s targeted $50 million Series B and Green Li-ion’s $20.5 million ...

Ascend is ready to help more startups fly. The Seattle-based pre-seed venture capital firm led by startup veteran Kirby Winfield on Tuesday announced a $25 million second fund.

Ascend typically makes 35-to-40 investments out of a fund. It prefers to be a company’s first institutional round, writing checks in the $250,000-to-$750,000 range.