Devpost
{{infobox website
|name=Devpost
|founded=2009
|founder=Brandon Kessler
|url={{URL|https://devpost.com/}}
|company_type=Private
|commercial=Yes
|language=English
}}
Devpost (formerly ChallengePost) is a platform that helps software engineers participate in software competitions (hackathons). Customers market their developer tools and jobs to the Devpost community. The company was founded by Brandon Kessler in 2009.{{cn|date=October 2021}}
Origin
In 2006, Colin Nederkoorn initiated a public contest prompting programmers to develop a means for running the Windows XP operating system through an Intel Mac. Programmer Jesus Lopez eventually won the competition, which had accumulated over $13,000 in donations. Kim-Mai Cutler, [https://venturebeat.com/2009/06/29/challengepost-launches-problem-solving-site-with-wozniak-betaworks-onboard/ "ChallengePost launches problem-solving site with Wozniak, Betaworks onboard"], Venture Beat, June 29, 2009 Seeing this competition, Kessler soon developed ChallengePost as a means through which similar competitions could be facilitated and promoted.{{cite web|author=Lydia Dishman|url=http://www.fastcompany.com/1701327/innovation-agents-brandon-kessler-founder-challengepost|title=Innovation Agents: Brandon Kessler, Founder ChallengePost|publisher=Fast Company|date=November 29, 2010}}
At first, the company allowed any individual or organization to post a competition. Over time, their scope evolved. In 2015, ChallengePost changed its name to Devpost and focused exclusively on helping software engineers participate in hackathons, and eventually to find jobs.{{Cite web |title=Devpost Reveals Student Hacker Preferences |url=https://www.i-programmer.info/news/204-challenges/8833-devpost-reveals-student-hacker-preferences.html |access-date=2025-02-05 |website=www.i-programmer.info}}
== Funding ==
In August 2011, ChallengePost raised $4.6 million in Series A funding from investors including former Apple executive Bob Borchers of Opus Capital and Qualcomm founder Irwin Jacobs.Peter Kafka, [http://allthingsd.com/20110808/crowdsourcing-platform-challengepost-raises-4-million/ "Crowdsourcing Platform ChallengePost Raises $4 Million"], All Things D, August 8, 2011
Hackathons and Jobs
Devpost now powers the majority of the world's in-person and online hackathons (software competitions), and helps software engineers find jobs, in service of the company's mission "To help developers find fulfilling work." After 2019, the platform saw a surge in online hackathons hosted on the platforms due to the COVID-19 pandemic.{{cn|date=February 2021}}
Notable clients
In 2010, ChallengePost was named the official online "challenge platform" of the U.S. federal government, previously overseeing the NYC Big Apps contest in conjunction with the city of New York, as well as Michelle Obama's Apps for Healthy Kids challenge in conjunction with the U.S. Department of Agriculture.Erick Schonfeld, [https://techcrunch.com/2010/05/27/challengepost-government/ "ChallengePost Becomes A Government Contractor"], TechCrunch, May 27, 2010
Devpost customers include Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft, IBM, Intel, Cisco, Atlassian, Twitter, and others.