Rocket Academy, a Singapore-based startup providing online coding courses, announced today it has received S$1.5 million (~US$1.1 million) in pre-seed funding from a slew of angel investors and VCs.

The list of investors includes Darius Cheung of 99.co, Marcus Tan of Carousell, Stanley Tang of DoorDash, former Singapore Ambassador to the UN Kishore Mahbubani, XA Network, and VC firms Taurus Ventures and Hustle Fund.

The startup will use the money to strengthen its flagship courses’ curriculums in coding and software engineering and boost the student experience on its learning platform. A portion will go into market expansion, specifically in Hong Kong, Australia, and Southeast Asia.

Founded and managed by Neo Kai Yuan, an alumnus of Stanford University, Alibaba and Facebook, Rocket Academy came to life in 2019 as an online coding school to address the mounting industry-wide shortage of software engineers.

According to the company’s founder, Rocket’s speciality training courses are designed to be longer and more comprehensive than traditional coding boot camps, yet shorter, more practical and affordable than university courses. 

Rocket Academy offers two courses: Coding Basics (an introductory course for beginners to learn the basics of coding) and Software Engineering Bootcamp (which prepares students for a career in software engineering).

Given the pandemic-induced social distancing measures, many companies build and maintain digital products to reach their homebound customers. This accelerates the global demand for skilled software engineers.

“The world is undergoing a massive transformation to a globally –accessible workforce. Rocket Academy is at the heart of the action, arming talent with the skills (both hard and soft) to compete and thrive,” said Shiyan Koh, managing partner at Hustle Fund, one of the investors in this pre-seed round.

Also read: Edutech is opening up opportunities, but we need to get it right

Rocket Academy leverages a pre-recorded online model to provide courses that allow greater flexibility and efficiency for students to review and complete at their own pace. The company claims it achieves high levels of engagement between students and teachers on its learning platform. 

One of Rocket’s regular activities is the live classes over Zoom for students to clarify concepts with instructors, apply learning in pair exercises and network with classmates.

“We are regularly in touch with businesses to understand technical skills that software engineers need. This allows us to refine our curriculum to make it relevant and appropriate for students looking for rewarding software engineering careers,” added Kai Yuan.

Besides teaching, Rocket Academy also connects its alumni to software engineering jobs through resume development, portfolio development, referrals, and interview preparation and setup.

The company boasts of 100 per cent success rate in placing its graduates in software engineering jobs within companies and organisations such as 99.co, Xfers, Glints, GovTech, and GoTrade.

“Over the past months, the demand for our SEB graduates from businesses has doubled,” said Neo Kai Yuan. “Getting our students good jobs is our top priority. The better jobs our students get, the stronger our alumni network becomes, which enables us to find better jobs for future students.

According to US Labor statistics, as of December 2020, the global talent shortage amounted to 40 million developers worldwide and is expected to reach 85.2 million by 2030. Companies worldwide risk losing US$8.4 trillion in revenue because of this lack of skilled talent, opening up room for innovative solutions in both edutech and human resource (HR) tech.

The global market of HR tech is set to hit US$35.68 billion in 2028 at a CAGR of 5.8 per cent in the forecast period, as per Fortune Business Insights’s report. 

Meanwhile, the global edutech market size was valued at US$89.49 billion in 2020. It’s expected to witness a CAGR of 19.9 per cent from 2021 to 2028.

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Image credit: Rocket Academy

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In the new normal, there is a distinct lack of ability for different parts of the Southeast Asia tech ecosystem to reach out to each other. We used to have thousands of offline activities happening monthly, connecting various local and regional ecosystems, connecting startups, corporates, government agencies, and investors.

Every year, e27’s Echelon Summit used to bring in more than 10,000 people over two days to achieve these meaningful, often serendipitous, connections. At Antler, the in-person recruitment events, masterclasses, Demo Days, and networking sessions have always been an instrumental part of “the Antler experience”, helping to connect founders with investors and other key players in the local startup ecosystem.

In today’s environment, we do not yet have the ability to travel, meet founders in person, and host multiple in-person recruitment events. This can be a real pain, especially for those who are new and do not have existing networks. Online webinars and conferences seem to alleviate this issue temporarily, but we find the ecosystem to be craving for more.

We all need to embrace new ways of working, interacting, recruiting, and investing.

How Antler adapted during the pandemic and embraced the new normal

Antler moved to conduct their programs online and then in a hybrid model as things opened up, such as their Antler Investment Committees (IC), which went fully online and brought in guest IC members dialing in from around the world. Our Demo Day, built on a proprietary platform enabled a global pool of investors to connect directly with startups we are interested in partnering with.  We are continuing to improve and build this platform to be more interactive and tailored to the needs of both the investors and founders.

Also read: Making construction cleaner, greener, and more climate-friendly

Antler has also continued to host virtual events, podcasts, information sessions, and webinars. We launched the Antler VC Cast during the pandemic to tap into the world’s best minds in the VC and tech ecosystem and discuss the handling of the crisis and re-set of the world. A virtual “Ask A VC” series was also launched in which Antler Partners spend one-on-one time with founders at their earliest stages to provide personalized feedback and mentorship.

An upcoming webinar on September 1 will take a deep dive into Vietnam’s thriving startup ecosystem and provide an overview of the top businesses, industries, trends, and quirks that define Vietnam’s innovation economy.

On September 15, Antler will have it’s first hybrid event with Women in Product Singapore about building a sustainable product culture.

e27 brings you opportunities to build your investor network

e27’s mission has always been to empower entrepreneurs with the tools to build and grow their companies. With e27 Pro, we’re going back to our roots and helping startups with their fundraising by providing a platform that allows not only discovery but a tool to begin conversations with investors and update them on their progress. 

Over the past couple of months, e27 have served over 3,000 connections between startups and investors through e27 Pro’s Connect feature. With over 300 verified active investors on the platform, e27 Pro members have in their reach the ability to find, connect, and engage with investors that are right for them.

To further accelerate this process, and keep it as a permanent fixture of the Southeast Asia ecosystem tools, e27 has partnered with accelerators to further assist the startups’ engagements and conversations with regional investors.

How e27 and Antler are collaborating

Antler continues to recruit globally by partnering with various communities and platforms such as e27 to find the best talent in the region. Using e27’s Pro capabilities, the global early-stage VC can access a diverse group of early-stage startups from around Southeast Asia who are looking to scale up and raise funds. 

“Through the e27 platform, we have access to founders from countries we don’t have a presence in. We have just recruited our first team from Cambodia for our upcoming cohort in September who we got connected to through the e27 platform.” – Jussi Salovaara, Co-founder & Managing Partner, Asia of Antler

Antler’s partnership with e27 exemplifies how technology platforms can be used creatively and thoughtfully to bring the local tech ecosystem closer together in the “new normal”.

Get the chance to connect with Antler

Antler’s vision as a global venture capital firm is to enable and invest in the world’s most exceptional people who will build the defining companies of tomorrow. With their global early-stage investment data platform and partnerships like these, Antler is changing the way talent is sourced and early-stage investment decisions are made.

Also read: How businesses can maximise their growth using the right financial tools

The entrepreneurs Antler works with are the top 1% globally, selected out of more than 50,000 entrepreneurs evaluated every year. In Southeast Asia alone, they receive over 5000 applications per year and accept an average of 200 founders per year across multiple programs. The admission rate is usually around 3-5% for each cohort.

Antler is onboard e27 Pro, and members can reach out directly to us via Connect.

Any e27 Pro member can simply visit Antler’s profile and click the Connect button to get the ball rolling.

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