Ascend Learning, a healthcare and learning technology company backed by CPP Investments and Blackstone, has acquired M7 Health, an AI-powered scheduling platform. M7 helps health systems forecast staffing demand, auto-balance schedules and fill gaps with qualified clinical staff.

M7 is used by health systems nationwide, including large academic medical centers and community and rural hospitals. According to the company, health systems using M7 have cut administrative burden by more than 60 percent, premium labor spend by 35 percent and nurse turnover by 30 percent.

The deal adds a fourth brand to Ascend's healthcare workforce portfolio, following last month's acquisition of the Teaching Assignment Management System. M7 joins existing units Staff Garden and Laudio to link career development, scheduling and staff retention under one platform.

Lissy Hu, chief executive of Ascend Learning, said the acquisition brings workforce insights from credentialing and upskilling to scheduling decisions. Ilana Borkenstein, co-founder and chief executive of M7, said the combination would help health systems build stronger staffing infrastructure and deploy talent more cost-effectively.