Galvanize To Acquire Leading Provider of Immersive Technology Education, Hack Reactor

Leading technology workforce educator Galvanize announced it will acquire San Francisco-based Hack Reactor, a highly respected operator of immersive coding programs across the country, to create one of the largest independent accelerated learning providers.

“From the beginning, we saw a clear compatibility through a shared passion for innovative, high quality instruction combined with measurable outcomes and we are thrilled to welcome the Hack Reactor team to the Galvanize family,” said Galvanize CEO, Al Rosabal. “This combination continues to position Galvanize as one of the largest, fastest-growing and highest quality immersive technology education providers focused on delivering extraordinary outcomes for students, members and enterprise partners.”

In the age of rapid digital transformation, enterprises must re-skill their workforce and secure valuable new talent to overtake the competition and drive business growth. Galvanize, the learning community for technology, is on the leading edge of successfully guiding Fortune 500 companies to make these transitions. This acquisition enables the company to expand its portfolio of product offerings, campus locations and skilled graduates to meet the growing demand of enterprise customers.  The company also empowers individuals to enter the digital economy or level-up their skills for the workplace of the 21st century through immersive technology education.

Galvanize has secured a $32 million Series C financing led by growth equity firm Catalyst Investors with participation from New Markets Venture Partners and existing investors: ABS Capital Partners, University Ventures and the Colorado Impact Fund.  Tyler Newton from Catalyst Investors will join the Galvanize board of directors.

“There is an increasing need to upskill the workforce,” said Newton. “The unique combination of Galvanize’s offerings – consumer coding academy, coworking membership and enterprise training – operates at the intersection of talent, training and innovation within the tech ecosystem. The combined business has the scale, market presence, brand leadership, student outcomes and enterprise partner relationships that are difficult to replicate.”

Hack Reactor will continue to operate its respected programs under the Hack Reactor @ Galvanize™ brand.  Hack Reactor plans to move onto Galvanize’s campuses in San Francisco, New York and Austin, expanding opportunities for both students and members.

“When searching for the right organization, Galvanize emerged as the best possible partner, with complementary strengths in community, software engineering, enterprise partnerships, data science, and a shared focus on quality education,” said Hack Reactor CEO, Harsh Patel. “This deal ensures we continue delivering the best possible education to the students and create vibrant community destinations – on campuses and online – that connect entrepreneurs, alumni, enterprise partners and students.”

The acquisition adds Los Angeles to Galvanize’s innovation hubs for technology students, alumni, entrepreneurs, startups and established companies, in addition to the markets it currently serves including: Austin, Boulder, Denver, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle and online.

About Galvanize

Galvanize is a learning community for technology with nine destination campuses across the U.S. where Innovative startups, aspiring students, and large enterprises benefit from this dynamic, unique business ecosystem. Our faculty, acclaimed curriculum and flexible blended-learning platform, which combines online education and in-person training, provides the most relevant and in-demand technology skills for professionals and Fortune 500 companies. Learn more at www.galvanize.com.

About Hack Reactor

Hack Reactor is an immersive full-stack development program that teaches students software engineering at our campuses in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Austin, New York City, and through our Remote campus. Students master advanced HTML and CSS, front-end JavaScript frameworks like Backbone and Angular, server development with Node, and databases with SQL and Mongo during 800 hours of instruction, projects, and hands-on work. Hack Reactor graduates work as mid-to-senior level programmers at top companies, including Google, Facebook, LinkedIn and more.

About Catalyst Investors

Catalyst Investors is a growth equity firm founded in 2000. Catalyst’s mission is to earn superior returns by helping entrepreneurs build great companies. Catalyst employs a rigorous top-down research focus that seeks to identify investment opportunities in companies and industries that will exhibit strong revenue growth. The firm works in true partnership with talented management teams to build long-term value. Past and present Catalyst portfolio companies include SaaS-based businesses (Weave, Fusion Risk Management, Jobvite, MessageLabs, MINDBODY), Business Services (Datavail, Envoy, Reputation Institute), Food Tech (BrightFarms, ChowNow), Healthcare IT (Clinicient, PresenceLearning), AdTech/Marketing (Conductor, MediaMath, WeddingWire) and Internet Infrastructure (InSite Wireless Group, Latisys, Xplornet). For more information, visit www.catalyst.com.

About New Markets Venture Partners

New Markets Venture Partners is a venture capital firm that invests in and actively assists innovative education, information technology, and business services companies. The New Markets Team has decades of experience investing in and building high growth companies, maintains proprietary relationships with centers of innovation, and has particular domain expertise around technology and education. It prides itself on working to add value before, during and after the investment process.

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