1) Origins: XebiaLabs and the birth of XL Release (2008–2015)

• Company founding (2008). XebiaLabs was founded in the Netherlands by Coert Baart and Vincent Partington (backed by the Xebia group). ()
• XL Release launches (2013). XebiaLabs announced XL Release as an enterprise-class release coordination/orchestration product in Sept 2013. ()
• Positioning & capabilities. XL Release was designed to plan, track, and execute releases (phases & tasks), acting as a “single source of truth” for release orchestration. ()
• Community momentum (2014). XebiaLabs offered community editions of XL Release and XL Deploy to expand adoption. ()

Early feature trajectory (XL Release 4.x)

• 4.5–4.7 era (2015–2016). The 4.x line cemented core concepts and added a stream of enhancements (API, triggers, etc.) documented in the historic 4.5/4.7 release notes. ()
• XL Release’s reference manual from this period captures the canonical “releases → phases → tasks” model many enterprises standardized on. ()

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2) The merger wave & rebrand to Digital.ai (2019–2020)

• Pre-merger investment context. XebiaLabs had grown as a release/orchestration leader; on Jan 21, 2020 CollabNet VersionOne and XebiaLabs announced a combination to create an integrated Agile/DevOps platform (TPG Capital-backed). ()
• Digital.ai is born (Apr 15, 2020). CollabNet VersionOne, XebiaLabs, and Arxan Technologies formally combined and rebranded as Digital.ai—an integrated value stream (DevSecOps) company. ()
• Arxan’s role. Arxan (app protection) announced it “has come together with CollabNet VersionOne and XebiaLabs to form Digital.ai.” (Apr 16, 2020). ()

Post-formation acquisitions to fill out the platform (2020–2021)

• Numerify (AI analytics) & Experitest (continuous testing) acquired June 16, 2020, extending analytics and mobile/web testing in the platform. ()

Branding/renaming impact on XL Release

• The product name transitioned to Digital.ai Release (formerly XebiaLabs XL Release)—Digital.ai’s own materials state this directly. ()

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3) What changed for customers after the rebrand

• Continuity of product & artifacts. Documentation and container images retained legacy identifiers (e.g., xebialabs/xl-release) for continuity, while branding became Digital.ai Release. Red Hat’s container catalog still lists xebialabs/xl-release images (e.g., 9.0.11). ()
• Support & lifecycle policies modernized. Digital.ai has published EOL/deprecation guidance (e.g., no “latest” Docker tag for Release images effective Oct 31, 2024; you must pull by explicit version). ()

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4) Digital.ai corporate & platform milestones (selected)

• Digital.ai launch & first value-stream vision (Apr 2020). ()
• Forrester VSM leadership recognition (Q3 2020). ()
• Named platform releases (e.g., Denali, Banff) highlight periodic, cross-portfolio drops. ()
• Ongoing feature launches across Release/Deploy/Testing, including 2023–2025 updates to streamline enterprise delivery. ()

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5) Product timeline: from XL Release to Digital.ai Release

XL Release era (pre-2020)

• 2013: XL Release GA. ()
• 2014: Community edition offered. ()
• 2015–2016: XL Release 4.5 → 4.7 → 4.8 (and beyond) add robust API, trigger, and orchestration features (see 4.7.x notes & contemporaneous posts). ()

Digital.ai Release era (2020 → present)

Digital.ai documents the product simply as “Release” with numeric streams (22.x, 23.x, 24.x, 25.x). Selected highlights:

• 22.x (2022): New Release versions under the Digital.ai banner appear in docs (e.g., 22.3; CLI enhanced for new operator-based install). ()
• 24.x (2024): The Release docs standardize on current install/upgrade guidance and operator/Kubernetes paths (also see EOL policy introduced for Docker tags in 2024). ()
• 25.3 (Oct 2025): Latest major stream at time of writing; Bitnami Helm charts deprecated beginning 25.3, to be removed in later versions. (Parallel 25.3 updates exist across Deploy/Testing as well.) ()

Tip: Digital.ai Release is now the canonical name. Legacy “XL” labels may still exist in image names, some configuration keys, and historical docs; functionally you’re looking at a continuous lineage. ()

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6) Ownership today

• Owner: Digital.ai (formed by the 2020 combination of CollabNet VersionOne, XebiaLabs, and Arxan; subsequently expanded via acquisitions like Numerify and Experitest). ()

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7) Practical migration & versioning notes (for teams coming from “XL Release”)

• Naming & artifacts: Expect mixed legacy naming in technical artifacts (e.g., Docker xebialabs/xl-release). Follow the EOL policy: always pin explicit versions (no :latest after Oct 31, 2024). ()
• Upgrade approach: Use the current upgrade guides (JVM or Kubernetes/operator paths) aligned with your deployment model. ()
• Compatibility planning: When moving from older 4.x/early “XL Release” versions, review historic release notes to catch deprecations and manual actions. ()

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8) Concise timeline (company + product)

• 2008: XebiaLabs founded. ()
• 2013: XL Release launched (release orchestration). ()
• 2014–2016: 4.x feature maturation; community editions announced (2014). ()
• Jan 21, 2020: CollabNet VersionOne + XebiaLabs announce combination (TPG). ()
• Apr 15–16, 2020: Digital.ai formed; Arxan joins the combined company; XL Release continues under the Digital.ai Release name. ()
• Jun 16, 2020: Digital.ai acquires Numerify (AI analytics) and Experitest (continuous testing). ()
• 2022–2025: Major Release streams 22.x → 25.x; operator-based install work, lifecycle tightening (Docker tag policy), and 25.3 deprecates Bitnami Helm charts. ()

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9) Where to track “what’s new” next

• Release (product) notes: Best single source for version-by-version changes (e.g., 25.3). ()
• Upgrade guides & support policy: For impact/planning and supported paths. ()
• Corporate history & press releases: For rebrand/acquisition context. ()

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