Ascend Communications was an Alameda, California-based manufacturer of communications equipment that was later purchased by Lucent Technologies in 1999. Ascend Communications was founded in 1988 and taken public in 1994. Initial investors included Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield and Byers (KPCB); Greylock Partners; and New Enterprise Associates (NEA). The complete product suite made Ascend an attractive asset, and was acquired by Lucent Technologies in 1999. The $24 billion merger was the largest technology merger in history up to that time. Ascend's stock traded under the Nasdaq symbol ASND.