Xcelerate Solutions acquires Maryland software company

McLean-based defense and national security contractor Xcelerate Solutions announced Tuesday that it acquired Maryland software development company clearAvenue.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, and Xcelerate did not immediately return requests for comment.

Based in Columbia, Maryland, clearAvenue is a federal contractor providing software development and maintenance, business intelligence and analysis, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics and cloud services support.

The combined company will have a workforce of 1,500 people, and offer cybersecurity, vetting, infrastructure protection and other digital services.

“This acquisition marks a significant step forward in our technical capabilities,” said Xcelerate CEO Mark Drever. “We’ve always had a solid foundation in digital transformation, but clearAvenue lets us take it to the next level. clearAvenue is one of the few companies with demonstrated past performance qualifications in AI and machine learning.”

Xcelerate says its expanded capabilities will allow it to grow across the defense, law enforcement, national security, civilian agency and federal government sectors. It is not immediately clear if there will be any major leadership structure changes in the wake of the acquisitions, or whether all of clearAvenue’s employees are transitioning to the combined company.

This marks the third acquisition completed by Xcelerate Solutions as a portfolio company of Chicago-based private equity firm McNally Capital. Xcelerate merged with Virginia Cybersecurity firm VMD in 2024, and in September acquired General Dynamics Information Technology’s background investigation assets.

Headquartered in McLean, Xcelerate’s major clients include federal law enforcement, the Department of Defense (also known as the Department of War) and the intelligence community.

Earlier this year, Drever was one of five Virginian winners of Ernst & Young’s 2025 Mid-Atlantic Entrepreneur of the YearAward.