Andela acquires Woven to improve how companies hire AI engineers

• Andela has acquired Woven, a technical assessment startup

• Andela says this will help companies predict job performance more accurately before hiring
• The deal focuses on testing real-world engineering skills, especially for AI roles

Andela, a global engineering talent platform that helps companies hire, deploy, and upskill tech teams across more than 135 countries, has acquired Woven, a technical assessment startup focused on real-world coding and job simulations.

The company stated that this agreement will improve their engineer assessment process, particularly for those in artificial intelligence. They will now evaluate candidates based on their performance in realistic work situations, rather than primarily using interviews, resumes, or standard coding tests. The financial details of the acquisition were not revealed.

Woven will now be integrated into Andela’s hiring and talent assessment system, with its founder joining the company to help build new tools for evaluating AI-focused engineering roles.

Turning hiring tests into job simulations

As companies transition from AI experimentation to real-world deployment, technical hiring is becoming more challenging. Employers now require engineers with expertise in AI systems, data pipelines, and safe scaling practices for production environments, moving beyond traditional software development skills.

Read also: China to review Meta’s controversial $2bn Manus AI deal

Andela says Woven’s assessments stand out because they mimic real engineering work, such as debugging systems, designing solutions, and making technical trade-offs, instead of abstract puzzles or multiple-choice tests. This allows companies to see how candidates think and work before making hiring decisions.

For Andela, the deal strengthens its pitch to employers: not just access to global engineering talent, but clearer insight into who can actually deliver on the job. The company already works with major brands across fintech, cloud, data, and AI, and this acquisition pushes it deeper into skills validation and workforce readiness.

What changes for engineers and employers

With Woven’s tools now inside its platform, Andela says it can better assess engineers across different AI roles, including those who build models, integrate them into products, and scale systems across organizations.

For engineers, this means clearer interviews and more hands-on assessments that simulate actual job tasks. For companies, this means lower hiring risks and faster recruitment because they can see how candidates perform before making a hire.

More broadly, the deal highlights how technical hiring is changing. As software work becomes more complex, especially with AI, companies are moving away from traditional filters toward skills-based testing that mirrors real-world work.

For Andela, the strategy is straightforward: better assessments lead to better hires, stronger outcomes, and deeper trust between companies and engineers in an AI-driven job market.