Handshake raises $200 million Series F at $3.5 billion valuation

Handshake, a San Francisco careers network for college students and recent graduates, announced a $200 million Series F round on January 19, 2022. The financing valued the company at $3.5 billion, more than twice its valuation in 2021.

Coatue Management and Valiant Peregrine Fund led the round. Other participants included Base10's Advancement Initiative, Spark, Lightspeed, True Ventures, Kleiner Perkins, EQT Ventures, GGV Capital, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Emerson Collective and Reach Capital. Handshake said it would put the capital toward features for building skills and employer relationships, new credential and job-readiness programs, and growth in the United States and abroad. It also planned a scholarship for students at historically Black colleges and universities, created with Base10.

At the time of the announcement the platform counted about 20 million students and young alumni, 1,400 educational institutions and more than 650,000 employers. The company reported that 1.7 million employer-candidate relationships had formed on the network during the previous year. Beyond its San Francisco headquarters, Handshake had offices in Denver, New York and London.