Asian startup schools unite: Taipei’s Alpha Camp acquires Singapore’s Pragmatic Lab

Two startup schools in Asia are embracing team spirit over classroom rivalry. The Pragmatic Lab, a coding academy based in Singapore, announced today that it has been acquired by Taipei’s Alpha Camp, another startup education program. The size and terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pragmatic Lab and Alpha Camp offer similar programs for their students. Recent college graduates or job switchers looking to master a new skill set and work for a startup can enroll in programs for coding or business development. The organizations also form ties with local entrepreneurs and investors in order to introduce students into the local startup network.

Pragmatic Lab was founded in 2011 by Sidwyn Koh, who previously led the iOS development team at Roomorama, a vacation propery rental app that raised US$2 million in funding in 2012. Alpha Camp, meanwhile, launched in February 2014 after Yahoo! Hong Kong alumnus Bernard Chan graduated from a similar bootcamp back in the States.

It’s not often that we hear of startup schools acquiring other startup schools. But like any other industry, competition in education is fierce, and many of these training institutes have taken on venture capital funding. General Assembly, the most famous startup school of its kind, has raised US$49.5 million to date. The New York-based firm has been active in Hong Kong for years and will soon launch in Singapore with support from IDA, a government agency in charge of the infocommunications industry.

We’ve reached out to Chan and Koh for more information about the acquisition.