Wilco, an immersive upskilling platform for software developers, announced on Monday the release of its first public version and $7 million in seed funding. The round was led by Hetz Ventures, with participation from leading funds and angel investors including Vertex Ventures, Flybridge Capital Partners, and Shopify VP Engineering Farhan Thawar.
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On Freund, co-founder and CEO of Wilco said: "To build successful careers, developers need to acquire and continuously practice a wide range of skills beyond coding. Many soft skills and technical areas of expertise — like team communication, debugging complex systems, and responding to crises — are picked up by developers only with countless hours of hands-on experience, which is hard to come by."
Developers join a simulated tech company on Wilco's platform, where they take on quests designed to challenge them to handle complicated engineering scenarios while using real technologies and tools.
Wilco hopes its unique upskilling solution helps to improve career advancement opportunities for groups underrepresented in the tech industry.
"Nowadays, even the most junior positions require some experience, and many opportunities are limited to those who are already ahead or those privileged with a strong social network. Wilco's mission is to empower every developer, regardless of their background or skill level, to unlock their full potential," Freund said.
