Progress Acquires Modulus, big win for the Cincinnati startup community

Progress, a global software company, announced last week the acquisition of the Cincinnati-based startup Modulus, which provides a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) for easily hosting, deploying, scaling and monitoring data-intensive, real-time applications using powerful, rapidly growing Node.js and MongoDB technologies.
 
Founded in 2012, Modulus, a graduate of the Brandery, uses the Node.js and MongoDB technologies to simplify and speed development of the new generation of scalable, always connected business and consumer apps that are constantly monitored and optimized for the best experience. Modulus was first in touch with Progress in February 2014.
 
“We were in the process of raising another round of venture funding,” says Modulus CEO Charlie Key. “We started a conversation, and it just steamrolled from there. We began understanding synergies between us—it all happened pretty quickly.”
 
Progress has spent the last 30 years in the software business and, now including Modulus, offers a deep line of products including its Open Edge technology, which accelerates application development and is currently used by more than 47,000 business in more than 175 different countries.
 
“By adding Modulus into what they already have, it allows them to give companies and developers more control over what they are building and how it’s running,” Key says. “For us, we’ve got access to a whole new set of potential customers and partners. We have to think about how our technology continues to get better based on what’s available, and all these new resources we have.”
 
Key is proud that Modulus, though now owned by an international company, will remain in Cincinnati to build its team.
 
“We’re staying in Over-the-Rhine, and all of our key players will staying in their current positions,” Key says. “I think this shows that you can build a very high-tech company here and be successful.”
 
Moving forward, Key and his team intend to stay very involved in the Cincinnati entrepreneurial ecosystem as mentors, guides and more. Key will be speaking in the Startup Grind series at the Brandery this Wednesday, June 18 at 5 p.m.