XLerant Receives $850,000 Investment
from Connecticut Innovations
Rocky Hill, Conn., January 10, 2008 – Connecticut Innovations (CI), the state’s quasi-public authority responsible for technology investing and innovation development, today announced that it has provided funding of $850,000 to XLerant, Inc., of Stamford, Conn., through its Eli Whitney Fund. CI leads the larger $1.2 million Series A round that included private investors.
XLerant is an early stage software development and marketing company whose initial product, BudgetPak, is often referred to as the "Turbo Tax" of budgeting. BudgetPak provides non-financial managers with a budgeting resource that effectively addresses the challenges of over spending and budget allocation.
"This investment by CI will enable XLerant to penetrate the market more rapidly than originally anticipated. There is a real void in the market for a product that meets the needs of both large and small firms," said Lawrence Serven, co-founder and chief executive officer of XLerant. "By meeting a widely recognized customer need, XLerant can win over traditional non-users of budgeting software. BudgetPak will provide a more efficient and cost effective budgeting solution for any size company using Excel, which an estimated eighty percent of all companies use."
"XLerant is addressing a real need in the market with its initial product," said Peter Longo, president and executive director of Connecticut Innovations. "By providing an easy-to-use interactive tool, XLerant helps companies improve the overall budgeting process, while at the same time reduce the amount of time managers must devote to developing and monitoring cost center budgets."
XLerant’s primary focus, the Corporate Performance Management (CPM) software market, is one of the fastest growing segments in corporate software. According to recent research, the CPM market segment generated nearly $1 billion of new license revenues in 2006 and is expected to grow by over 10% for the period 2007 through 2010. Within this market segment, planning & budgeting accounted for over thirty-three percent of new license revenues in 2006 and is projected to grow to nearly $500 million by 2010. BudgetPak is well positioned to compete in the CPM market segment by complementing, not replacing or competing with, existing enterprise CPM software.
"This investment in XLerant represents CI’s thirteenth investment this fiscal year," said Governor M. Jodi Rell. "By continually supporting emerging information technology companies CI is contributing to a stronger economic base for the state and creating exciting companies that will lead to job growth in an important segment of the economy."
About Connecticut Innovations, Inc.
Connecticut Innovations (CI) is a quasi-public organization dedicated to driving a vibrant, entrepreneurial, technology-based economy in Connecticut. CI stimulates high-tech growth by investing in: early-stage Connecticut technology companies; university/industry research collaborations; technology transfer; and, clean energy initiatives through the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund. CI also fosters collaboration among government, business, nonprofit and academic organizations to advance technology growth and promotes public policies consistent with CI’s mission. For more information on CI, please visit www.ctinnovations.com.
About XLerant, Inc.
XLerant was founded in 2004 by New Canaan resident Lawrence Serven and Greenwich resident Charles Pevsner and is located in Stamford, Conn. BudgetPak, the company’s initial product, was commercially released in December 2005. XLerant has in its pipeline a suite of additional applications whose development will be driven by business and market considerations. For more information please visit www.XLerant.com