Coding bootcamp start-up Rocket Academy has announced it has raised $1.1 million in pre-seed funding, in an effort to address the global talent shortage in software engineers.

With the aim to train and supply the best software engineers in the region, Rocket Academy will use its newly acquired funding to grow the company into the leading coding school in Southeast Asia.

The investment has been provided by a diverse group of 50 marquee tech investors and venture capitalists.

Rocket Academy is currently offering two courses for prospective students: Coding Basics, an introductory course for beginners and Software Engineering Bootcamp (SEB), which prepares students for a career in software engineering.

The company provides pre-recorded learning material, as well as live Zoom classes for interactive learning with instructors and classmates, and the opportunity to apply learning in collaborative exercises.

Rocket Academy intends to invest its pre-seed funding in two areas; further developing its current courses and expanding into new markets, with a view to going global in the long-term.

Kai Yuan Neo, founder and CEO at Rocket Academy commented: “There is a mounting global talent shortage of developers around the world. As of December 2020, this amounted to 40 million developers worldwide. By 2030, that is expected to reach 85.2 million. Not only this, but companies worldwide risk losing $8.4 trillion in revenue because of the lack of skilled talent. Rocket Academy exists to solve this equation and we are on a mission to scale further and faster.”

He added: “Over the past three months, we have seen a 10-fold increase in demand for our Coding Basics course and a four-fold increase in demand for our SEB course. We are regularly in touch with businesses to understand technical skills that software engineers need. This allows us to refine our curriculum to make it relevant and appropriate for students looking for rewarding software engineering careers.”

Rocket Academy supports its SEB graduates in finding positions in the industry once qualified, giving them guidance on things like portfolio development and interview preparation. The academy uses its network of companies to help place future software engineers, making referrals and organising job interviews for SEB graduates.

“Getting our students good jobs is our top priority. The better jobs our students get, the stronger our alumni network becomes, which enables us to find better jobs for future students,” said Yuan Neo.