The technical consulting company CodeSignal which counts Index Ventures and Menlo Ventures as investors, has launched a learning platform called CodeSignalLearn. The new platform, aimed at audiences who want to learn technical topics, also has an AI-powered bot called Cosmo, which helps users with learning.
The company said there are hundreds of courses available at launch ranging from introduction to programming, tutorials on specific languages, data analysis and machine learning. Over time, CodeSignal wants to expand into some non-technical areas, such as management skills, that accelerate career paths.
How does the platform work?
CodeSignal Learn is currently accepting users through a waitlist. Once you log in, the Cosmo robot asks you questions like what you want to learn and what your skill level is. Based on this, a course path is formed for each person.
Image credits: CodeSignal
The platform has two levels and the company has chosen a gamified path to monetize its product. With the free level, you can follow the lessons freely. But as soon as you ask the Cosmo robot a question, or ask it for help with a code evaluation, you lose an energy bar. Free users get five energy bars and one bar recharges every four hours. This whole process has the feel of a mobile game.
To avoid any of this hassle, paying up to $24,99 per month gets you unlimited energy.
Users can learn about different topics through text or convert lessons into a slideshow or video format. The company said it has created courses with subject matter experts to put an emphasis on practice-based learning, so the courses typically have 90% content that requires users to work with an integrated development environment (IDE). .
Why is CodeSignal developing a learning platform?
The company was originally called CodeFight when it was founded in 2014 as a competitive coding platform. But as it evolved, the startup focused more on technical evaluation and was renamed CodeSignal in 2018.
CodeSignal CEO Tigran Sloyan said the co-founders started the company with the mission of discovering skilled workers and developing the skills that will shape the future. Sloyan said the startup wanted to do it all and also create an educational product.
“We quickly realized that focus is everything. So we thought we had to fix the assessments first, since they are essential for both hiring and development.” With the new platform, the company once again focuses on the idea of developing people's capabilities.
“We felt that until we discovered a great one-on-one tutoring product we couldn't have a revolutionary educational product. But with the rise of AI-based technology, we feel this is the right time,” Sloyan said.
While the company believes the learning platform can upskill a wide audience, CodeSignal thought about its customers and how it could work to close the skills gap for its workers or people they want to hire.
Competition and the way forward
Several companies compete in the market for both technical assessments and skills development. LinkedIn, owned by Microsoft, has learning and assessment modules. Last year, it launched an AI-powered learning assistant. Pluralsight, which Sloyan considers CodeSignal's biggest competitor, also has an evaluation product. In the learning space, there are many competitors like Coursera and Udemy, along with more focused ones like Guild and Articulate.
Sloyan believes CodeSignal has an advantage because it has a practice-first approach to learning. Furthermore, he believes that the Cosmo AI robot is like having a private tutor by your side.
The company is also launching CodeSignal for teams and beta testing enterprise products, which will offer a more customized version for large organizations. The CEO expects the learning product to generate 50% of the company's revenue within two years.
CodeSignal raised its latest investment with a fundraising Serie C of $50 million in 2021. While the startup is not yet profitable, it is not looking to raise another round anytime soon. The company has raised $87,5 million to date. The company employs 200 people, almost three times more than the 70 people it had on the payroll in 2021.
