Andela announces $200 Million Series E led by Softbank; now valued at $1.5 Billion

Global network for remote engineering talent, Andela, has today announced Series financing worth $200 Million. The new round values the company at $1.5 Billion, and was led by Softbank Vision Fund 2 with participation form new investor Whale Rock, and existing investors including Generation Investment Management, Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and Spark Capital.

Lydia Jett, Founding Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers and one of the most respected consumer technology investors in the world, will join Andela’s Board of Directors.

Andela helps companies build remote engineering teams by providing them with access to the software engineers in the world.

Launched in Africa in 2014, the network today represents engineers from more than 80 countries and six continents. Through the company, thousands of engineers have been placed with technology companies including Github, Cloudflare and ViacomCBS. 

“Andela has always been the high-quality option for those building remote engineering teams. Now that the world has come to embrace remote work, (we) have become the obvious choice for companies because we can find better talent, faster,” says Jeremy Johnson, CEO and co-founder.

With a successful placement rate of 96%, the company says it has mastered the ability to evaluate the technical skills and soft skills of engineers to match them to the teams they’ll be most successful in.

With the new capital, the company says it will be investing in developing products to simplify global hiring and make engineers’ lives easier. In addition, it will continue to expand its talent offering beyond software development to include new verticals such as design and data after launching Salesforce development earlier this year.

“Hiring remote technical talent is one of the top challenges that companies face today. We believe Andela will become the preferred talent partner for the world’s best companies as remote and hybrid work arrangements become the norm,” said Lydia Jett, Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers. “We are delighted to support Jeremy and the team in their mission to connect these companies with brilliant engineers, and in the process, unlock human potential at scale.”

“This new round of funding enables Andela to strengthen our already extensive network of incredible talent in Africa and across the world, as we systematically connect the best software engineers with global opportunities”, says Agnes Muthoni, Director of the Andela Learning Community at Andela. “Being backed by a diverse group of renowned and experienced investors is a testament to the growing importance of remote work, and how Andela is at the forefront of helping companies scale their engineering teams at a rapid pace”

A fully remote organization with more than 300 employees around the world, Andela is hiring top talent across the board, particularly in Product, Engineering, and Growth.