Holberton began as a San Francisco coding school and has pivoted into an edtech SaaS that positions itself as an "OS of Education," offering tools for franchised campuses, auto-grading and online programs. The company works with partners to run schools across the U.S., Europe, Latin America and Africa and has customers among universities, nonprofits and corporations. Holberton says it now charges other businesses, universities and non-profits to use its tools and content to run education and training programs at scale. The startup expanded its network from nine to 18 schools in 2020 and expects roughly 5,000 students to join this year, up from 500 in 2019. Holberton faced regulatory and student-complaint challenges in California in 2020, voluntarily surrendered its California operating license, and later had fraud allegations struck down by the state attorney general. The company has continued international expansion with new campuses in Mexico and Peru and plans further network growth. Holberton is a San Francisco-based in-person software engineering school that positions itself as an alternative to a four-year college degree. Founded by former LinkedIn engineer Sylvain Kalache and Julien Barbier, the program uses a project-focused curriculum that emphasizes fundamentals, beginning with C. The school has graduated its first five batches and currently trains roughly 100 students, claiming a 90% placement rate into jobs, freelancing positions, or internships. Graduates have been hired by companies including Google, Apple, Tesla, Nvidia, and Docker, and many are recruited before finishing the program. Holberton’s revenue model takes a 17% cut of graduates’ salaries for the first three years in their new roles. The company has raised $4.3 million to date and plans to scale enrollment from about 100 students to as many as 1,000.

Total raised

$24M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series B

Latest activity

Mar 2021