Bringing Innovation to Life®
We strive to create a better, healthier future by progressing healthcare and life science innovations
Life-long relationships
We thrive on personal trust and connections with entrepreneurs and stay connected with our founders, working with them as they need our help, investing time and resources across all development stages.
Life Science expertise
Risk is inherent in biomedical technology and lifescience investments and it can take over eight years to get a product to market. While other healthcare accelerators tend to steer clear of this area, XLerateHealth embraces this sector with a bench of experts in each area.
Growing digital health & technology
We support startups across the full spectrum of digital health, telemedicine, and mhealth technologies. Digital technology is a key growth engine for the future of healthcare and we offer a broad range of expertise to support these innovations.
From the lab to life
XLerateHealth has expertise in taking what academics and clinicians put together and moving concepts from lab to market through a targeted customer discovery process that helps entrepreneurs understand the potential for their idea, research, or technology.
Personal and tailored
In real life entrepreneurship, there is not a one-size-fits-all solution. XLerateHealth creates a personal, collaborative and flexible culture versus the formalized, corporate nature of some other startup programs.
Our History
2025
February – XLH presented at the 2025 Annual Meeting of the Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) in Washington, DC, sharing commercialization readiness frameworks and national outcome data from the NIH-funded I-RED program with university technology transfer leaders and research commercialization professionals.
February – XLH completed the second I-RED cohort, graduating eight university-based innovators who advanced their commercialization milestones related to intellectual property protection, licensing, regulatory, reimbursement, financial modeling, and capital raised.
March – Clover Learning, Inc., an XLH 2018 portfolio company founded in Louisville. KY was acquired by Ascend Learning. Nearly 100% bootstrapped, Clover grew into a national leader in online diagnostic imaging education, serving 24,000 monthly users with 600+ training videos and a 96% learner pass rate, and its acquisition marks a significant expansion of its impact across the allied health workforce.
May – XLH released an I-RED participant impact video highlighting the startup teams' transformation from academic investigators to commercialization-ready entrepreneurs, reinforcing the program’s applied education model and measurable translational outcomes.
June – eBlu Solutions, an XLH 2016 portfolio company headquartered in Louisville, KY, was acquired by Frazier Healthcare Partners through its portfolio company Knipper Health. eBlu developed a category-defining platform that automated medical and pharmacy benefit investigations and prior authorizations at the point of care, reducing processing times from weeks to under 60 seconds and supporting a network of more than 15,000 specialty providers nationwide.
June – RxLightning, Inc., an XLH 2020 portfolio company based in New Albany, IN, was acquired after being founded at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company built an end-to-end digital platform that streamlined specialty medication onboarding, reduced administrative friction, and accelerated therapy initiation, demonstrating scalable impact in specialty pharmacy access and patient enrollment workflows.
August – XLH presented aggregated I-RED outcomes across two cohorts, 10 universities, and 17 participants, reporting $20.46M in total capital raised, a 32% average knowledge gain across core commercialization domains, and measurable increases in patent filings, licensing progress, entity formation, and SBIR/STTR awards.
February – XLH completed the second I-RED cohort, graduating eight university-based innovators who advanced their commercialization milestones related to intellectual property protection, licensing, regulatory, reimbursement, financial modeling, and capital raised.
March – Clover Learning, Inc., an XLH 2018 portfolio company founded in Louisville. KY was acquired by Ascend Learning. Nearly 100% bootstrapped, Clover grew into a national leader in online diagnostic imaging education, serving 24,000 monthly users with 600+ training videos and a 96% learner pass rate, and its acquisition marks a significant expansion of its impact across the allied health workforce.
May – XLH released an I-RED participant impact video highlighting the startup teams' transformation from academic investigators to commercialization-ready entrepreneurs, reinforcing the program’s applied education model and measurable translational outcomes.
June – eBlu Solutions, an XLH 2016 portfolio company headquartered in Louisville, KY, was acquired by Frazier Healthcare Partners through its portfolio company Knipper Health. eBlu developed a category-defining platform that automated medical and pharmacy benefit investigations and prior authorizations at the point of care, reducing processing times from weeks to under 60 seconds and supporting a network of more than 15,000 specialty providers nationwide.
June – RxLightning, Inc., an XLH 2020 portfolio company based in New Albany, IN, was acquired after being founded at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The company built an end-to-end digital platform that streamlined specialty medication onboarding, reduced administrative friction, and accelerated therapy initiation, demonstrating scalable impact in specialty pharmacy access and patient enrollment workflows.
August – XLH presented aggregated I-RED outcomes across two cohorts, 10 universities, and 17 participants, reporting $20.46M in total capital raised, a 32% average knowledge gain across core commercialization domains, and measurable increases in patent filings, licensing progress, entity formation, and SBIR/STTR awards.
2024
January – XLerateHealth receives approval for Phase II Period 2 of the NIH/NIGMS I-RED program.
January – XLH presented the Southeast NIH-funded I-RED program at the 2024 Annual NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) meeting in Washington DC.
April - XLH partnered with Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, to create a semester-long Healthcare Design Thinking Certificate course for undergraduate and graduate pharmacy, occupational therapy, and business students. This effort was funded by the Small Business Administration (SBA), supporting rural ecosystems interested in healthcare innovation.
May - XLH partnered with the National Institutes of Health and hosted a 2-hour webinar titled "Funding Biomedical Innovations for Entrepreneurs" webinar. Program officers from 13 NIH Institutes discussed the funding opportunities relative to their particular institution.
July - XLH was featured in KY Inno / Louisville Business First article, "How Kentucky is becoming a favorite in the biotech industry".
July - XLH selected 3 participants for the SBIR/STTR 1:1 Coaching Program.
August - XLH selected 8 university-based Life Science innovators from across the Southeast for the 2nd cohort for the 16-week NIH-funded I-RED Program. Participants include 2 MDs, 4 PhDs, an MD/PhD, and a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
August - Marquicia Pierce Henderson, PhD, MBA joined the XLH team as Director of Portfolio Commercialization.
August - XLH's Healthcare Design Thinking Certificate course debuted at Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy. Students from the schools of Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, and Business used this human-centered design approach to address real-world pain points and work in teams to develop innovative solutions related to these real-world pain points.
September - XLH hosted a Webinar titled "Omnibus vs. Targeted Solicitations: Finding the Best Funding Opportunities" in collaboration with the NIH Seed Office, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
November – XLH partners with Presbyterian College of Pharmacy to offer a 2-hour CEU-approved Healthcare Design Thinking Webinar for clinicians living and/or working in South Carolina.
November - XLH selected 5 participants for the fall SBIR/STTR 1:1 Coaching Program.
November - XLH partnered with the University of Michigan-Flint for the 4th year to facilitate the Healthcare Innovation and Design Challenge as part of UM-Flint's ART 150 / Design Thinking Course.
January – XLH presented the Southeast NIH-funded I-RED program at the 2024 Annual NIH Research Evaluation and Commercialization Hub (REACH) meeting in Washington DC.
April - XLH partnered with Presbyterian College in Clinton, SC, to create a semester-long Healthcare Design Thinking Certificate course for undergraduate and graduate pharmacy, occupational therapy, and business students. This effort was funded by the Small Business Administration (SBA), supporting rural ecosystems interested in healthcare innovation.
May - XLH partnered with the National Institutes of Health and hosted a 2-hour webinar titled "Funding Biomedical Innovations for Entrepreneurs" webinar. Program officers from 13 NIH Institutes discussed the funding opportunities relative to their particular institution.
July - XLH was featured in KY Inno / Louisville Business First article, "How Kentucky is becoming a favorite in the biotech industry".
July - XLH selected 3 participants for the SBIR/STTR 1:1 Coaching Program.
August - XLH selected 8 university-based Life Science innovators from across the Southeast for the 2nd cohort for the 16-week NIH-funded I-RED Program. Participants include 2 MDs, 4 PhDs, an MD/PhD, and a Doctor of Physical Therapy.
August - Marquicia Pierce Henderson, PhD, MBA joined the XLH team as Director of Portfolio Commercialization.
August - XLH's Healthcare Design Thinking Certificate course debuted at Presbyterian College School of Pharmacy. Students from the schools of Pharmacy, Occupational Therapy, and Business used this human-centered design approach to address real-world pain points and work in teams to develop innovative solutions related to these real-world pain points.
September - XLH hosted a Webinar titled "Omnibus vs. Targeted Solicitations: Finding the Best Funding Opportunities" in collaboration with the NIH Seed Office, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, the National Institute on Aging (NIA), and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).
November – XLH partners with Presbyterian College of Pharmacy to offer a 2-hour CEU-approved Healthcare Design Thinking Webinar for clinicians living and/or working in South Carolina.
November - XLH selected 5 participants for the fall SBIR/STTR 1:1 Coaching Program.
November - XLH partnered with the University of Michigan-Flint for the 4th year to facilitate the Healthcare Innovation and Design Challenge as part of UM-Flint's ART 150 / Design Thinking Course.
2023
February – XLerateHealth (XLH) and academic lead, University of Kentucky (UK), were awarded Phase II of an STTR grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the IDeA Regional
Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) Program. With this award, XLH and UK will build on prior work and launch and validate new entrepreneurship education and training tools that foster the translation of promising biomedical discoveries and technologies from research laboratories into
commercial products. (Total Phase I & II award: $3.25M and runs through February 2025.)
April - XLH partnered with ScholarRx, a medical education technology company, to launch a suite of experience-based entrepreneurship education products and tools supporting the NIH/NIGMS I-RED program.
May - XLH received its 6th Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) award! This most recent award will enable XLH to expand its partnerships in the Southeast IDeA State region, with a goal of creating equitable access to the innovation ecosystem for STEM/R&D-focused rural entrepreneurs and innovators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
July - 8 startups were accepted into the 2023 XLerateHealth Flagship Accelerator Bootcamp.
September - XLH was selected by the SBA as a Stage Two GAFC Catalyze awardee. This 7th SBA GAFC award will enable XLH to expand its current work, programming, and services in the Southeast IDeA State region to further build this historically underserved region’s “Innovation Ecosystem”.
October - 9 innovators across the Southeast “XLerator Network” were selected to participate in the NIH funded I-RED program. This inaugural cohort are working on technologies that include diagnostics, manufacturing, medical devices, and therapeutics, and will receive funding to further the commercialization of their technologies.
April - XLH partnered with ScholarRx, a medical education technology company, to launch a suite of experience-based entrepreneurship education products and tools supporting the NIH/NIGMS I-RED program.
May - XLH received its 6th Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) award! This most recent award will enable XLH to expand its partnerships in the Southeast IDeA State region, with a goal of creating equitable access to the innovation ecosystem for STEM/R&D-focused rural entrepreneurs and innovators at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).
July - 8 startups were accepted into the 2023 XLerateHealth Flagship Accelerator Bootcamp.
September - XLH was selected by the SBA as a Stage Two GAFC Catalyze awardee. This 7th SBA GAFC award will enable XLH to expand its current work, programming, and services in the Southeast IDeA State region to further build this historically underserved region’s “Innovation Ecosystem”.
October - 9 innovators across the Southeast “XLerator Network” were selected to participate in the NIH funded I-RED program. This inaugural cohort are working on technologies that include diagnostics, manufacturing, medical devices, and therapeutics, and will receive funding to further the commercialization of their technologies.
2022
January - XLH launched its Pre-Accelerator program.
January - XLH and its affiliate, the XLerator Network, partnered with Jackson State University and the University of Kentucky to launch the "SBIR/STTR Readiness Program" - a program designed to address and fill the gaps that exist in many HBCUs and other minority serving institutions related to underserved and underrepresented entrepreneurs' preparedness to successfully apply for and receive SBIR/STTR funding.
February - XLH was selected as one of the "Best & Most Active United States Entrepreneurship Programs".
March - XLH was recognized by Tellescope as one of the “20 Digital Health Accelerators to Know for 2022".
July - 8 startups were accepted into the 2022 XLH Flint Accelerator.
July - XLH was selected as one of the "Top 19 Health Startup Accelerators”.
August - 8 startups were accepted into the 2022 XLH Louisville Accelerator.
August - XLH and its affiliate, the XLerator Network, partnered with the University of Kentucky and was awarded the first phase of a potential $3.25M multi-year grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) Program. This second STTR grant continues XLH's entrepreneurial commercialization work in the southeast region (KY, WV, SC, MS, AR, LA and Puerto Rico) with faculty, researchers, and students.
August - XLH was recognized for a second time as one of the “20 Digital Health Accelerators to Know for 2022”.
September - XLH received a supplemental grant from the NIH to develop a curriculum providing business and operational training to NIH-funded core facilities directors and staff.
November - XLH received continued funding from the City of Flint via the SBA's Community Navigator Pilot Program and from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to support ongoing programming into 2023.
January - XLH and its affiliate, the XLerator Network, partnered with Jackson State University and the University of Kentucky to launch the "SBIR/STTR Readiness Program" - a program designed to address and fill the gaps that exist in many HBCUs and other minority serving institutions related to underserved and underrepresented entrepreneurs' preparedness to successfully apply for and receive SBIR/STTR funding.
February - XLH was selected as one of the "Best & Most Active United States Entrepreneurship Programs".
March - XLH was recognized by Tellescope as one of the “20 Digital Health Accelerators to Know for 2022".
July - 8 startups were accepted into the 2022 XLH Flint Accelerator.
July - XLH was selected as one of the "Top 19 Health Startup Accelerators”.
August - 8 startups were accepted into the 2022 XLH Louisville Accelerator.
August - XLH and its affiliate, the XLerator Network, partnered with the University of Kentucky and was awarded the first phase of a potential $3.25M multi-year grant by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) through the IDeA Regional Entrepreneurship Development (I-RED) Program. This second STTR grant continues XLH's entrepreneurial commercialization work in the southeast region (KY, WV, SC, MS, AR, LA and Puerto Rico) with faculty, researchers, and students.
August - XLH was recognized for a second time as one of the “20 Digital Health Accelerators to Know for 2022”.
September - XLH received a supplemental grant from the NIH to develop a curriculum providing business and operational training to NIH-funded core facilities directors and staff.
November - XLH received continued funding from the City of Flint via the SBA's Community Navigator Pilot Program and from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to support ongoing programming into 2023.
2021
January - In collaboration with Jackson State University and the University of Kentucky, XLerateHealth’s HBCU pre-accelerator program, EnRICH, received the SBA L2M Visionary Award and was recognized in Forbes.
March - XLerateHealth launched their Corporate Innovation program, supporting innovation strategy at large healthcare organizations, hospital systems, payers and more.
August - 13 startups are accepted into the 2021 XLerateHealth Flagship Accelerator Bootcamp.
September - XLerateHealth was 1 of 8 applicants to win the first-ever SBA Catalyst Award with collaborators Jackson State University and the University of Kentucky; funds go to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives that support healthcare innovation across the Southeast.
December- XLerateHealth announced new funding from the City of Flint via the Small Business Administration (SBA) Community Navigator Pilot Program and The Community Foundation of Flint. The Awards will support the development of a new pre-accelerator program to help prime local Flint, MI healthcare innovation. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, one of the original funders of XLH Flint starting in 2018, continues to support operations of the flagship Flint accelerator.
March - XLerateHealth launched their Corporate Innovation program, supporting innovation strategy at large healthcare organizations, hospital systems, payers and more.
August - 13 startups are accepted into the 2021 XLerateHealth Flagship Accelerator Bootcamp.
September - XLerateHealth was 1 of 8 applicants to win the first-ever SBA Catalyst Award with collaborators Jackson State University and the University of Kentucky; funds go to Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives that support healthcare innovation across the Southeast.
December- XLerateHealth announced new funding from the City of Flint via the Small Business Administration (SBA) Community Navigator Pilot Program and The Community Foundation of Flint. The Awards will support the development of a new pre-accelerator program to help prime local Flint, MI healthcare innovation. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, one of the original funders of XLH Flint starting in 2018, continues to support operations of the flagship Flint accelerator.
2020
January - XLH partnered with The University of Michigan to bring the Fast Forward Medical Innovation’s fastPACE biomedical entrepreneur program to XLH Flint.
June - XLH 2020 cohorts prepared to go virtual for Flint and Louisville bootcamps.
August - XLH and its affiliate, The XLerator Network, partnered with Jackson State University and University of Kentucky to launch EnRICH, a pre-accelerator program across historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern U.S. This program will be led by Jackson State University and aims to support outstanding healthcare innovation in historically underserved and underrepresented areas.
August - XLH partnered with The University of Louisville’s Forcht Center to bring LaunchIt to XLH Flint and the XLeratorNetwork.
September - XLH refreshed its brand, launching a new era under the headline, “Bringing Innovation to Life®,” which embodies the work XLH does to progress healthcare and lifesciences innovations to create impactful, sustainable companies. XLH launched a new website in support of the brand refresh.
June - XLH 2020 cohorts prepared to go virtual for Flint and Louisville bootcamps.
August - XLH and its affiliate, The XLerator Network, partnered with Jackson State University and University of Kentucky to launch EnRICH, a pre-accelerator program across historically black colleges and universities in the Southeastern U.S. This program will be led by Jackson State University and aims to support outstanding healthcare innovation in historically underserved and underrepresented areas.
August - XLH partnered with The University of Louisville’s Forcht Center to bring LaunchIt to XLH Flint and the XLeratorNetwork.
September - XLH refreshed its brand, launching a new era under the headline, “Bringing Innovation to Life®,” which embodies the work XLH does to progress healthcare and lifesciences innovations to create impactful, sustainable companies. XLH launched a new website in support of the brand refresh.
2019
January - XLH expanded its footprint to include a second healthcare accelerator in Flint, Michigan.
October - XLH received a $250k supplemental grant from the NIH to launch the “I2P” (Ideas to Products) Program to fund the development of biomedical innovations from universities in NIH’s “IDeA states” southeastern region.
October - XLH was selected by the SBA as one of the SBA’s 60 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition recipients - recognizing XLH as one of the nation's most innovative and promising small business accelerators supporting startups and STEM entrepreneurs. XLH was the only healthcare accelerator to win this award four times. This year’s award had a special designation, allocating funding to XLH to work with entrepreneurs living in or whose businesses are located and operate in states with a lower number of SBIR/STTR awards.
October - XLH received a $250k supplemental grant from the NIH to launch the “I2P” (Ideas to Products) Program to fund the development of biomedical innovations from universities in NIH’s “IDeA states” southeastern region.
October - XLH was selected by the SBA as one of the SBA’s 60 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition recipients - recognizing XLH as one of the nation's most innovative and promising small business accelerators supporting startups and STEM entrepreneurs. XLH was the only healthcare accelerator to win this award four times. This year’s award had a special designation, allocating funding to XLH to work with entrepreneurs living in or whose businesses are located and operate in states with a lower number of SBIR/STTR awards.
2018
September - XLH received a $3.4M National Institutes of Health (NIH) NIGMS grant to develop the XLerator Network (XLN) - a networked “Hub” to help researchers and faculty commercialize innovative technologies coming out of 24 academic institutions in Kentucky, West Virginia, Arkansas, South Carolina, Mississippi, Louisiana and Puerto Rico.
December - XLH, University of Louisville, Louisville Healthcare CEO Council, and GLI’s EnterpriseCorp received “RISE” grant funding from the Kentucky Cabinet of Economic Development.
December - XLH, University of Louisville, Louisville Healthcare CEO Council, and GLI’s EnterpriseCorp received “RISE” grant funding from the Kentucky Cabinet of Economic Development.
2017
XLH launched an Intersession Program. This program supports entrepreneurs virtually, working at their own pace. Participants are companies that typically have a longer path to market (eg: drug development or diagnostics companies) and require more hands-on mentorship over a number of years.
2016
XLH received a third SBA grant and was one of 68 winners of the third annual SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. XLH was awarded the 2016 grant with a focus on supporting entrepreneurs' understanding and participation in Small Business Innovation (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs.
2015
XLH received a second SBA grant and was one of 80 winners of the second annual SBA Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. Applications were judged by more than 40 experts with entrepreneurial, investment, startup, economic development, capital formation and academic backgrounds from both the public and private sector.
2014
XLH is selected by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) as one of 50 winners of the first Growth Accelerator Fund competition. XLH was selected from more than 800 applications. XLH was invited to participate in the White House Business Council Forum on Accelerating Business Entrepreneurship in Washington, D.C., in November of 2014.
2013
Initially funded by the Louisville Metro Government and the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development, XLH launched its first startup accelerator cohort of six companies.
2012
XLerateHealth (XLH) began as a civic endeavor to fill a void in the marketplace. At that time, no healthcare or life science accelerator existed in the lower Midwest or Southeastern United States.
