Handshake, a career network for U.S. college students, closed a $40 million Series C funding round led by the EQT Ventures fund, a European multi-stage VC fund. The round also included participation from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Omidyar Network, and Reach Capital. In conjunction with the funding, Alastair Mitchell of EQT Ventures will join Handshake’s board of directors. Representatives from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Omidyar Network, and Reach Capital will join a newly formed Impact Advisory Board to advise the company on better measuring and growing its social impact.
Founded in 2013 by three Michigan Tech students with the goal of democratizing opportunity, the Handshake network launched with five initial partner schools and now includes 700 colleges and universities, 14 million students and young alumni, and 300,000 employers—including 100% of the Fortune 500. The Handshake community supports 100 minority-serving institutions, including historically black colleges and universities and hispanic serving institutions across the country.
The Series C brings Handshake’s total funding to $74 million, including participation from previous investors Kleiner Perkins, Spark Capital, True Ventures, and Lightspeed Ventures.