What Forge does

Forge Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates the Launch Internship Program, a 12-week summer experience combining skills training with paid internship placement at employer partners. Founded in 2012 at the University of Virginia as HackCville and rebranded to Forge around 2021, the organization is headquartered in Charlottesville, Virginia and operates nationwide through online training and remote or in-person placements. The program offers three tracks, Software Engineering (React, Next.js, Express, Firebase, GitHub), Data Science (Python, SQL, Tableau, machine learning fundamentals), and Digital Marketing (SEO, Google Ads, Mailchimp, Canva, Figma, HubSpot), with a Countdown pre-program phase spanning the fall and spring semesters and a 160+ hour training curriculum that precedes a 9-week paid internship.

Revenue is generated from two primary streams: student tuition of $3,900 per participant (with a $500 non-refundable deposit and deferred balance payments during the internship) and a $1,800 company partnership fee per intern placed, plus optional $1,500 placement fees on full-time conversions and $500 on part-time conversions within 60 days of internship end. Donations support a financial aid scholarship program that has awarded over $40,000 to date, with 65% of aid recipients identifying as first-generation college students. The organization also receives no disclosed institutional investment and is governed by a four-person Board of Directors in addition to an executive team of five (Executive Director plus Directors of Operations and Engineering).

The customer base is dual-sided. On the student side, Forge serves college students and recent graduates (27% first-generation, 53% women, 57% BIPOC) recruited from 20+ universities. On the employer side, 200+ companies participate as hiring partners, including enterprise customers (S&P Global, Booz Allen Hamilton, ENSCO, Yext), startups (Testimonial IQ, SupplyTrust Technologies, Locus Health, Wyndly, Censia, Rose City Works), and nonprofits (Teaching Lab, AskMyClass). Outcomes reported by the organization include 700+ students trained since 2017, an 8% acceptance rate, 88% NPS from employer partners, a 95% student recommendation rate, and a 50%+ return-offer rate per cohort.

Name

Forge

Legal name

Forge Academy

Website

https://joinforge.co

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Forge Academy is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs the Launch Internship Program, a 12-week summer experience combining software engineering, data science, or digital marketing training with paid placement at 200+ employer partners for college students from 20+ universities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Charlottesville

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Student Tuition: Students pay $3,900 tuition for the Launch program. A $500 non-refundable deposit secures their spot, with the remaining $3,400 paid over the summer after starting their internship. Financial aid is available for students with demonstrated financial need who are already receiving institutional aid.
2. Company Partnership Fee: Companies pay a $1,800 partnership fee per intern hired through the Launch program. Optional placement fees of $1,500 for full-time hires or $500 for part-time hires are charged for conversions within 60 days after the internship ends.
3. Donations and Scholarships: Forge accepts donations to support financial aid scholarships for students. Over $40,000 in financial aid scholarships have been awarded to date. The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit (EIN: 46-1626349).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Forge operates the Launch Internship Program, a 12-week summer experience combining 3 weeks of intensive skills training (in software engineering, data science, or digital marketing) with a 9-week paid internship at one of 200+ partner companies. The program charges $3,900 tuition to students and a $1,800 partnership fee to employers per intern, producing job-ready candidates through curated matching, pre-internship training, and ongoing alumni engagement.

Product overview

Forge is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization operating the Launch Internship Program, which bridges the gap between ambitious students and innovative companies. The core offering consists of the Launch Internship Program—a 12-week summer experience combining the Countdown pre-program preparation phase (soft skills and technical skills training) with a 9-week paid internship at one of 200+ company partners. The program offers three distinct training tracks: Software Engineering, Data Science, and Digital Marketing. Supporting offerings include the Gender Equity Initiative focused on increasing women in tech, and a Financial Aid & Scholarships program for students with demonstrated need. Forge serves college students and recent graduates seeking careers in technology through practical skills training and exclusive internship placement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Launch Internship Program A 12-week summer internship program combining 3 weeks of skills training in software engineering, data science, or digital marketing with a 9-week paid internship at one of Forge's 200+ company partners. Open to college students and recent graduates nationwide, with tuition of $3,900 and internships paid at $23-25/hour.
• Software Engineering Track Training track within the Launch Internship Program teaching full-stack web application development using React, Next.js, Express, Google Firebase, and GitHub. Includes modern frameworks and agile development practices, preparing students for software engineering internships.
• Data Science Track Training track within the Launch Internship Program covering Python, SQL, Tableau, advanced Excel, and machine learning fundamentals. Students learn to find, clean, manipulate, and visualize data, develop predictive models (K-nearest neighbors, neural nets, linear regressions), and create interactive visualizations.
• Digital Marketing Track Training track within the Launch Internship Program covering market research, marketing strategy, SEO, social media advertising, data analysis, and design basics. Uses tools including Mailchimp, Facebook Ads Manager, Canva, Figma, Google Analytics, and HubSpot for B2B/B2C campaigns.
• Financial Aid & Scholarships Need-based scholarship program for Launch participants with demonstrated financial need who are already receiving institutional aid. Over $40,000 in scholarships has been awarded to date, with approximately 65% of aid recipients being first-generation college students.

Named customers12 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Top University PartnerscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Forge has established recruitment relationships with top universities including Columbia University, University of California Berkeley, University of Michigan, and University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. More than 20 different universities are represented in the Launch program annually.
• Women-Focused Company PartnersstrategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 202548% of Launch company partners are women-focused (women-founded or women in leadership). These partners support Forge's gender equity initiative and provide internship opportunities with a focus on improving gender equity in tech.
• 200+ Company PartnerscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 January 2017Forge has established relationships with over 200 company partners including startups, tech firms, and nonprofits that hire Forge interns. Partners include S&P Global, Censia, Testimonial IQ, SupplyTrust Technologies, Rose City Works, Locus Health, Booz Allen Hamilton, Wyndly, Teaching Lab, and many others. Companies pay a partnership fee of $1,800 per intern and receive pre-vetted, trained candidates.
• University of VirginiacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Forge was founded at the University of Virginia in 2012 by students. The organization maintains strong ties to UVA and recruits heavily from there, with the University of Virginia as a primary feeder institution for the Launch program.
• Gender Equity Initiative PartnersstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompany partners supporting Forge's gender equity focus include Censia, Dorsata, and other women-led companies. Partners demonstrate commitment to improving gender equity at their organizations and provide mentorship and internship opportunities.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• RippleMatch: Early-career recruiting platform that matches college students and recent grads with internships and entry-level roles at employer partners, specializing in diverse candidate pipelines. Competes with Forge on the employer-matching and direct-to-student placement side.
• Parker Dewey: Operates a marketplace for paid micro-internships and project-based engagements connecting college students with employer needs. Comparable on the paid-experience-for-students model and employer-paid service, though shorter duration than Forge's 9-week internship.

Broad incumbents

• General Assembly: Established for-profit provider of bootcamp-style training in software engineering, data, and digital marketing, with corporate training and hiring outcomes. Adjacent on training content; differs from Forge as a tuition-driven bootcamp rather than an internship-placement nonprofit.
• Handshake: Dominant university-to-employer early-career recruiting platform used by students at thousands of U.S. colleges. Competes with Forge for both student candidates (via university career services) and employer recruiting budgets.

Direct peers

• Year Up: Large nonprofit that combines technical skills training with a paid internship year for young adults from underserved communities, placing graduates at hundreds of corporate partners. Closely comparable to Forge's training-plus-internship model and mission-driven employer-pipeline positioning.
• Ada Developers Academy: Nonprofit tuition-free coding school that includes a long internship as part of its curriculum, serving women and gender-expansive students with placement into tech employers. Closely comparable on training-plus-paid-internship structure and diversity mission.
• COOP Careers: Nonprofit fellowship program providing career coaching, mock interviews, and employer introductions to first-generation college students and recent grads seeking internships and entry-level roles. Highly comparable target population and career-readiness offering.
• NPower: Nonprofit that delivers tech training (software, data, cybersecurity) and job placement to veterans and underserved young adults, often including paid internships or apprenticeships with corporate partners. Comparable workforce-development mission and employer-pipeline mechanics.
• Apprenti: National apprenticeship placement program that recruits diverse candidates, sources employers, and manages paid tech apprenticeships. Matches Forge on the structured training-plus-paid-work model and employer-paid fee structure.
• Pursuit: Nonprofit that trains adults from low-income backgrounds in software engineering and matches graduates with employer partners, often at tech companies and startups. Comparable on both the talent-development content and the company-paid placement model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/meetforge

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Forge