Online education company FourthRev and developer marketplace platform Deazy have snapped up some tech funding.
London-based FourthRev has closed its Series A fundraise of $8 million (£6 million). The lead investor is Educapital, an education technology impact fund, with follow-on funding from Reach Capital, Emerge Education and Danner Capital as well as a number of edtech entrepreneurs and executives.
Deazy, which is based in Bristol, has closed a Series A funding round of £5 million through investment from Puma Private Equity.
FourthRev Accelerates
Founded in 2019, FourthRev is a tech startup working across Australia, the UK and the US with a belief in collaboration between industry and universities.
It offers Career Accelerators as a way to prosper in the tech sector. FourthRev says it brings together universities, such as the London School of Economics and Political Science, and King’s College London; with technology companies such as Tableau and GitHub, and industry employers like Thoughtworks and Robert Walters to design programmes.
The first FourthRev Career Accelerator in Data Analytics is currently underway. The programme will introduce core concepts of data-handling and analysis and will incorporate real-world projects to allow students to apply and challenge their knowledge in business scenarios.
The investment will be used to develop and promote more Career Accelerators focused on areas experiencing the “most acute” digital skills shortages such as cybersecurity, AI, analytics, UI and project management skills.
FourthRev will be doubling its headcount worldwide, and expanding operations in the UK, Australia, South Africa and North America. It has 62 employees listed on LinkedIn.
Jack Hylands, Co-Founder of FourthRev, notes that the “rapid digitisation of the economy means that 85 million jobs are forecast to be lost through the emergence of new AI and automation technologies, but 97 million jobs are set to be created”.
He adds: “If the workforce is to succeed in this new economy, it will require a specific and different set of technological, emotional, and higher cognitive skills. Our mission is to support the workforce and learners through these changes.”
Nice ‘n’ Deazy
Deazy was founded in 2016 and connects enterprises, VC-backed scaleups and agencies with development teams. It works with “handpicked” teams comprising more than 3,000 developers, providing technical expertise.
Andy Peddar, CEO and Co-Founder, Deazy, says: “Because we work with businesses, not freelancers, we remain IR35-friendly, and we can provide clients with the right talent and skills immediately. The investment from Puma Private Equity will enable us to scale our commercial teams on both sides of the marketplace and take our platform experience to the next level.”
Deazy also plans to hire a Chief Product Officer. It has 28 employees listed on LinkedIn.
According to the company, it grew by 2.5x in 2021, an increase attributable to the increasing demand for developers globally following the pandemic.
Deazy works with enterprise clients, including RAC and Hanson.
