4Geeks secures $10M, increasing accessibility to top coding programs

Miami-based coding school 4Geeks has announced a $10 million growth funding round to expand its tuition financing program.

4Geeks will be partnering with Leif, a platform that provides “incentive-aligned” funding. In this arrangement, students are given the funds needed to take a course to supercharge their career. As part of their income share agreement, students then pay back the loan by giving 4Geeks nine percent of their earnings once they secure a job. This can be a great deal for students, who on average land jobs with a yearly salary of $50,000 upon completion of the program.

Marcelo Ricigliano, co-founder and managing director of 4Geeks, said in a statement that “our mission is to transform students of all backgrounds into dynamic and highly skilled engineers and data scientists. Incentive-aligned financing embodies this mission.”

The coding school has a global footprint, with 70 instructors spread across seven cities in the US, Latin America, and Europe. The pandemic pushed 4Geeks to develop online courses, which are now a core part of 4Geeks’ offering.

This funding announcement comes on the heels of a recent investment of $500,000 led by Pedro Torres-Mackie of New York-based Quotidian Ventures, which enabled 4Geeks’ expansion to Orlando.

In a crowded – and now globalized – landscape of coding academies, one way that 4Geeks stands out is its pricing. The course that equips students with all the skills necessary to gain employment as an entry-level coder costs $7,500. That’s competitive when compared with similar coding programs, which on average cost around $13,000.

Ricigliano told Refresh Miami that “our students get a great education, a great product, for way cheaper.” The shift to online learning opened their courses to an even more diverse group of students: “It’s great to see people are coming from everywhere – New York, Charlotte, Texas – to take part in the program,” Ricigliano said.

Earlier this year, 4Geeks announced a new Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Engineering Program in its Miami location. Ricigliano said that this unique program will help Miami become “a great hub for Artificial Intelligence development and growth.” He noted that large companies like Tesla and Blackstone have signaled an interest in hiring talent to develop these technologies in their Miami offices.

“We’re trying to take Miami and Florida to the next level in terms of skills, talent, and people willing to build things for the growth of our city,” said Ricigliano. “Excellence in AI is one of the things that should make Miami stand out.”

Since its launch in 2016, 4Geeks has graduated more than 1,000 coders. They have also signed more than $2 million of contracts with the Interamerican Development Bank to run coding programs in partnership with the Uruguay and Costa Rican governments.

A 4Geeks Academy class. At top of post: co-founders Marcelo Ricigliano and Alejandro Sanchez. Photos provided by 4Geeks

READ MORE: 4 Geeks Academy aims to make Miami a top spot for AI innovation

 

Riley Kaminer