Women’s coding school Hackbright Academy acquired for $18 million

Hackbright Academy, the San Francisco-based coding school for women, has been acquired by Capella Education for $18 million as the publicly traded education company looks to expand its efforts to train more women in technical careers.

“The future of learning and employment will be shaped by institutions that can upskill underrepresented populations in high-demand skill areas,” Capella CEO Kevin Gilligan said in a statement. “Capella has a heritage as an innovator for those poorly served by traditional education; Hackbright Academy is on the leading edge of innovation and support for women pursuing career advancement in software engineering.”

Hackbright, which was started in 2012, has graduated 364 women from its 12-week full-time fellowship programs. Another 279 women have graduated from its part-time program. Capella, meanwhile, is based in Minneapolis and specializes in degree programs for working adults, three quarters of whom are women.

The deal closed Friday, the companies said, with all of Hackbright’s 25 employees joining Capella. Hackbright CEO Sharon Wienbar will continue to lead the team, reporting to Gilligan. Hackbright will continue to focus its efforts on in-person trainings exclusively for women, Wienbar said.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.