Kerauno makes acquisition, continues growth spurt

Kerauno, an Indianapolis-based maker of communications-workflow software, is in the midst of a growth spurt.

This week, Kerauno officials announced the acquisition of Inverse-Square, a locally based custom software development firm. The acquisition will enable Kerauno to continue to grow and reach development objectives more rapidly, company officials said.

The deal closed earlier this month.

“Kerauno is building a sophisticated communications engine,” said Kerauno CEO and co-founder Josh Ross. “Acquisitions of this nature will enable us to go to market faster with new products and continue to offer our current suite of services.”

As part of the acquisition, Kerauno will add more than 12 employees from Inverse-Square, including the firm’s president, Bob Baird, who will become Kerauno’s vice president of software integration.

“Joining Kerauno is a tremendous opportunity,” Baird said. “We’re beyond excited.”

Inverse-Square, which was founded in 2011 and makes custom data-tracking software, has a client list that includes not-for-profits, financial services companies and real estate firms based in Indiana and in locations around the world, including Europe, the Middle East and Asia, company officials said.

Kerauno continues to add employees to its ranks, filling dozens of positions in the first two quarters of 2019. Growth is expected to continue for the next two quarters and accelerate further in 2020, company officials said.

Company officials declined to say how many employees the company has for competitive reasons, though the company said in an email to IBJ that it “fully anticipates” having 140 employees by 2022.

In March Kerauno told IBJ it had 50 employees.

The Inverse-Square acquisition isn’t likely to be the last for Kerauno. It might not even be the last this year.

Kerauno closed on a $25 million Series A round of funding in March.

Sources in the central Indiana VC and tech industries said it’s the largest Series A haul ever by an Indiana-based software company. Series A rounds represent a firm’s first wave of venture funding.

Much of the $25 million came from connections the firm established in the IndyCar Series, said Ross, who founded Kerauno with his brother Jason. The brothers remain majority owners.

Company officials said the round included institutional and individual investors, but would identify only a few notable ones, including race team owner Michael Andretti and The Joan Hanley (Steinbrenner) Trust.

Investors opted to bet big on Kerauno because they’re excited about the potential for its software platform, which helps companies manage and streamline communication through email, text, voicemail, social media and private chats. The company’s clients range from Andretti Autosport and Ace Rent a Car to Jackson Hewitt and Meineke.

Kerauno officials said all of the $25 million raised will fund growth, as opposed to other uses, such as buying out owners.

Ross said earlier this year that the company planned to use the money to hire workers, launch a massive headquarters expansion and ratchet up global marketing.

In addition, Kerauno announced in January that it will spend $5.2 million to open a new downtown headquarters.