Agitar Software Closes Second Investment Round
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA — March 9, 2004 — Agitar Software, the leading innovator of Managed Developer Testing, announced today it has closed venture financing of $12.6 million with New Enterprise Associates as the lead investor. Other firms participating in the second round include Wilson Sonsini Investment Company, Amidzad II, LLC., and Sequoia Capital, which expanded its first-round investment.
“We are excited to expand our board of directors with someone of the stature of Peter Morris.” says Jerry Rudisin, Agitar CEO and President. “Agitar is on the way to redefining the economics of software development for both corporations and government organizations,” he added. “With such an ambitious mission we will benefit greatly from his insight and experience, and from the backing and resources of New Enterprise Associates.”
“Even before meeting Agitar Software, we had identified automation of software quality as an important industry sector with enormous opportunity for innovation,” says Peter Morris, General Partner at NEA. “Agitar Software has the breakthrough technology, the customer-validated solution, and the management team to capitalize on the opportunity. NEA is thrilled to become part of this team.”
“Financial Engines’ advice technology platform delivers investment advice and portfolio management services for over 3.8 million 401(k) plan participants,” says Michael Campbell, VP of Engineering at Financial Engines. “We are keenly aware of the importance of software reliability and involving our software developers in the process of ensuring quality. We selected Agitar because it helps us significantly increase our control over software quality, engineering schedules and development costs.”
“Since we led the first round of financing 18 months ago, Agitar Software has made tremendous progress,” says Doug Leone, Partner at Sequoia Capital and member of the Agitar board of directors. “It has created a world-class product and, more importantly, it is defining a new industry with Managed Developer Testing. Agitar solutions make it possible for the first time for organizations to be in full control of the quality of their software assets. The feedback from early customers confirms that Agitar is addressing a critical need.”
Agitar offers a pre-packaged Jumpstart program, to help organizations assess their current testing efforts and implement an effective Managed Developer Testing program. Within days, companies can assess the current quality of their software projects, set testing targets, implement developer testing, integrate existing unit tests, train developers and QA engineers, and set up an automated quality reporting portal. Within weeks they can enjoy the profound benefits of effective Managed Developer Testing.
ABOUT AGITAR SOFTWARE
Agitar Software aims to revolutionize software economics by making Managed Developer Testing effective and economically compelling through a combination of automation and management visibility. Agitator, its flagship product, helps automate and manage the process of developer testing, the best way to improve software quality and slash software lifecycle costs. For more information, visit www.agitar.com.About Sequoia Capital
Sequoia Capital provides venture capital funding to founders of startups who want to turn business ideas into companies. As the "Entrepreneurs Behind the Entrepreneurs", Sequoia Capital's Partners have worked with innovators such as Steve Jobs of Apple Computer, Larry Ellison of Oracle, Bob Swanson of Linear Technology, Sandy Lerner and Len Bozack of Cisco Systems, Dan Warmenhoven of Network Appliance, Jerry Yang and David Filo of Yahoo!, Jen-Hsun Huang of nVIDIA, Michael Marks of Flextronics, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen of YouTube and Dominic Orr and Keerti Melkote of Aruba Wireless Networks. To learn more about Sequoia Capital visit www.sequoiacap.com.
Contact:
Mark de Visser
Agitar Software, Inc.
+1 (650) 694-7572 x300
pr@agitar.com
Douglas M. Leone
SEQUOIA CAPITAL
leone@sequoiacap.com
