Editor note: In our 2022 Startups to Watch feature, the Silicon Valley Business Journal and San Francisco Business Times present startups and founders doing unique things in the San Francisco Bay Area. Workera is one of 20 that we have profiled — to read more about our mission and the other startups we're featuring, click here.
The idea for Workera Corp. began when Kian Katanforoosh was teaching an artificial intelligence class alongside Coursera co-founder Andrew Ng at Stanford University.
Students came to Katanforoosh with the question: How do my skills stack up against the norm, and what skills do I need to improve?
Missing in the marketplace was a service to help engineers and other professionals understand how to upskill. So Katanforoosh and co-founder James Lee started a company that would help someone assess their skills in AI, machine learning, data engineering, analytics and business intelligence, and show them how they can improve.
"Companies are realizing how much culture matters and how continuous transformation is what is going to allow them to compete in the long-term," Katanforoosh said. "They can't continue to compete if they don't embed a culture of life-long learning in their organization."
Workera Corp.
- Founded: 2020
- Founders: Kian Katanforoosh and James Lee
- What it does: Improve skills training for engineers and tech professionals
- Headquarters: Palo Alto
- Employees: 43
- Total raised: $21 million
- Investors: New Enterprise Associates, AI Fund, Owl Ventures
What’s the pitch for Workera in seven words? Precision upskilling technology that transforms global workforces.
How different is the company you have today compared with what you first envisioned? The vision hasn't changed, but the route has changed. Instead of a consumer model ... the most acute pain was found in the enterprise setting. Technology is changing rapidly and workers need to refresh their skills regularly to remain relevant. And for businesses, upskilling is imperative in order to stay competitive.
Why did you base your company where you did? Kian was teaching at Stanford and it was convenient to be located close to campus. He also built a strong network in Silicon Valley through his work as a lecturer. Now the company is truly global. We realized that creating a remote team would enable us to bring in talent from all over the world and that cultural diversity helps drive innovation and create better solutions.
Who was the first person you asked for money? Andrew Ng was an early supporter. He and Kian had created a successful deep learning course for Coursera that millions of learners have enrolled in around the globe. Kian decided that he wanted to shift from content development to solving a key problem in the learning space: finding the right content to build skills effectively. Essentially, people need mentorship and guidance to effectively and efficiently upskill. Workera is a scalable way to provide that direction.
Are you already thinking of an exit strategy? No, we are optimized for the long-term success of the company and are focused on achieving our vision to help people reach their fullest potential.
