Turing is a 'unicorn' that hires IT developers for global business

AltaClub and AltaIR Capital have a#nbsp;new 'unicorn' in#nbsp;their portfolio#nbsp;— Turing. The founders named it#nbsp;after the famous British mathematician, Alan Turing, who had a#nbsp;huge impact on#nbsp;the development of#nbsp;computer science.

Founders: Jonathan Siddharth and Vijay Krishnan

Launched in#nbsp;2018, the company was valued at#nbsp;more than $#nbsp;1 billion in#nbsp;late 2021. Demand from funds and investors in#nbsp;the current round was so#nbsp;overwhelming that the round was "oversubscribed"; just like the previous one. The founders created and launched a#nbsp;product that has filled a#nbsp;major need for both global#nbsp;IT companies and for highly skilled developers who work from home with companies that are fundamentally changing the technological landscape.

We’ll explain why we#nbsp;decided to#nbsp;invest in#nbsp;Turing, why this service stands out in#nbsp;the market, as#nbsp;well as#nbsp;about the growing demand.

The market for hiring#nbsp;IT developers

The trend of#nbsp;remote work is#nbsp;no#nbsp;longer a#nbsp;trend; it’s a#nbsp;reality that’s the norm. Big Tech, and not only, continue to#nbsp;grapple with the problem of#nbsp;effective management of#nbsp;widely distributed teams. At#nbsp;the same time, they struggle with retaining valuable developers.

With the growing demand for the digitalization of#nbsp;business, it’s more and more difficult to#nbsp;quickly find effective development teams, and employee qualification continues to#nbsp;be#nbsp;an acute challenge. Businesses need Silicon Valley-level developers#nbsp;— here and now. They need those who can be#nbsp;trusted to#nbsp;create the kind of#nbsp;products that allow them to#nbsp;maintain their lead or#nbsp;compete in#nbsp;the global marketplace.

AltaClub members and fund from AltaIR Capital invested in#nbsp;Turing in#nbsp;spring 2020 when the project’s target market was estimated at $#nbsp;18.9 billion. The potential market size today is $#nbsp;20−25 billion. Demand for strong developers continues to#nbsp;grow rapidly, but despite growing competition Turing is#nbsp;more attractive because of#nbsp;its know-how and understanding of#nbsp;customer needs.

High demand

Turing seeks out, evaluates, hires, onboards, and manages developers for major tech companies from around the world. Clients include Johnson & Johnson, Coinbase, Rivian, Dell, Disney, Plume, and many Silicon Valley clients whose numbers are growing rapidly. The platform already has more than 1 million developers from 140 countries.

The service is#nbsp;unique in#nbsp;that it#nbsp;uses#nbsp;AI to#nbsp;select candidates that employers need#nbsp;— Talent Cloud. For#nbsp;IT programmers, from entry-level to#nbsp;CTO, Turing provides an#nbsp;opportunity to#nbsp;get a#nbsp;remote job in#nbsp;a#nbsp;prestigious global company. It#nbsp;tests candidates by#nbsp;level of#nbsp;knowledge, hard and soft skills, and selects only those who most closely match the articulated requirements of#nbsp;the hiring company.

The automated platform allows companies to#nbsp;deploy new engineering teams at#nbsp;lightning speed and find their ideal employee or#nbsp;team. Compared to#nbsp;how long it#nbsp;can usually take the#nbsp;HR department, clients save enormously on#nbsp;hiring, training, and offloading an#nbsp;employee to#nbsp;the project. Another advantage of#nbsp;the system is#nbsp;a#nbsp;working methodology for evaluating the team’s effectiveness with the client after this perfect match. Turing’s clients show a#nbsp;high retention rate, as#nbsp;much as#nbsp;97%.

Team

The team members have already worked together on#nbsp;previous projects, each with 13 to#nbsp;15 years of#nbsp;experience in#nbsp;tech. Jonathan Sidharth and Vijay Krishnan, are both Stanford computer science graduates, with experience scaling and further selling businesses in#nbsp;their immediate area of#nbsp;expertise.

Igor Ryabenkiy, founder AltaIR Capital and venture club AltaClub:

—#nbsp;Jonathan is#nbsp;very bright and focused, and I#nbsp;immediately liked the fact that he’s very articulate when he#nbsp;makes his pitch. The company has built an#nbsp;excellent process to#nbsp;identify and recruit highly-qualified specialists for large technology companies. That’s why their sales metrics are high and growth is#nbsp;taking off.

Traction

When we#nbsp;went in, the valuation, although in#nbsp;the millions of#nbsp;dollars, was still in#nbsp;the double digits. Within a#nbsp;year, however, it#nbsp;was already in#nbsp;the quadruple digits. At#nbsp;first, our early-stage fund and AltaClub invested in#nbsp;Turing; and a#nbsp;late-stage fund also joined the new round.

The company has steadily grown at#nbsp;a#nbsp;rapid pace. Given the investments raised in#nbsp;previous rounds and marketing activity in#nbsp;new countries, this rapid growth will continue. The company plans to#nbsp;work with project managers, as#nbsp;well as#nbsp;to#nbsp;strengthen work with non-tech businesses, which also have to#nbsp;transform.

It’s been a#nbsp;little over 1.5 years since we#nbsp;made our investment. Not only has Turing jumped from seed stage to#nbsp;unicorn status, but it#nbsp;has become a#nbsp;recognized market leader in#nbsp;the B2B segment. Now the company also appears in#nbsp;the list of#nbsp;the most promising companies of#nbsp;2021 according to The Information; in#nbsp;the list of#nbsp;the most innovative companies according to Fast Company; and Forbes included Turing in#nbsp;the list of#nbsp;the Best Employers of#nbsp;the Year. We#nbsp;are sure that this is#nbsp;just the beginning.