Major League Hacking (MLH), the largest developer programs platform in the world reaching more than 1 million developers through hackathons, meetups fellowships, open source programs, and mentorship, today announced the acquisition of DEV, the 3 million-strong digital community for software creators. By combining MLH’s experiential developer programs with DEV’s daily technical publishing platform and media site, the acquisition creates a centralized home for developers that supports a technologist's entire journey from their first "Hello World" to their first senior engineering role.
Creating The Core Community Infrastructure for Learning and Skills Development
MLH’s acquisition of DEV reflects its evolution from the college hackathon league into the leading professional development and skills lab for software creators. By pairing MLH’s decade of experience running hackathons and hands-on training programs with DEV’s daily publishing and peer-driven learning, the two are creating a clearer path for how developers learn, build, and grow their careers.
"MLH is where you build and break things in person. DEV is where those lessons live on. Whether you're shipping your first project or you're a senior engineer picking up AI skills for the first time, you're welcome here. In the AI era, everyone is a beginner again at some point, and we want to be the place where that's not just okay, but encouraged," said Mike Swift, co-founder and CEO of Major League Hacking.
The Partner of Choice for the AI Era
This acquisition also consolidates MLH and DEV as the primary distribution channel for the world's most significant AI and infrastructure companies. Leaders such as Google Gemini, GitHub, ElevenLabs, Snowflake, and DigitalOcean have already established partnerships within this ecosystem to bridge the gap between AI potential and actual developer adoption. 51% of MLH alumni have introduced a technology they learned from MLH into production at their job.
As AI lowers the barrier to entry for software creation, these companies are doubling down on community engagement. By putting tools directly into the hands of millions of software engineers and creators, MLH and DEV provide the real-world proving ground where the next generation of technical standards is established.
A Shared Vision for Independence and Scale
DEV will continue to be the community its members know and trust. The culture its founders built is why MLH wanted to do this, and the focus of the acquisition is on investing in DEV and helping it grow, not changing what makes it special.
"If DEV is the library, MLH is the lab. One is where knowledge gets shared, organized, and preserved. The other is where you get your hands dirty and prove you can actually build. Together, we're building the core community infrastructure of the next era of technology," said Jon Gottfried, co-founder of MLH.
Strategic Impact: Scaling the Impact of Experiential Learning
- Massive Combined Reach: By joining forces, we now reach 5 million developers, which is 10% of all software engineers globally. Our combined community offers unparalleled scale for collaboration. This acquisition exponentially expands the peer network available to every developer in our ecosystem.
- Enhanced Developer Journey: The acquisition of DEV positions MLH to capture the entire technical learning lifecycle, expanding the original event-based engagement to add daily content distribution and planned professional training expansions.
- Sustainability and Forem: MLH and DEV will serve as stewards for Forem, the open-source project powering DEV. Both companies are committed to finding an arrangement that allows the Forem mission to thrive independently and serve the broader open-source community.
“As more people create software, the technical content surrounding that work is becoming increasingly important,” said Peter Frank, co-founder and CEO of DEV. “Joining MLH lets DEV remain that everyday gathering space for developer knowledge while benefiting from MLH’s deep roots in the global developer community.”
About Major League Hacking (MLH)
Major League Hacking (MLH) is the largest developer programs platform in the world reaching over 1 million developers through hackathons, fellowships, open source programs, and mentorship. MLH helps technical talent gain real-world experience through global hackathons, online fellowship programs, and open-source projects. Each year, MLH supports thousands of in-person and digital learning experiences across nearly 100 countries, alongside fellowship programs that help developers gain real-world experience and build lasting professional skills. Through these programs, MLH develops a deep, data-informed understanding of how developers learn and build in real-world settings, shaping long-term partnerships with companies like Meta, GitHub, and Google. For more information, visit mlh.io.
About DEV
DEV is a professional network of over 3 million registered software developers. As a blogging-first platform, it allows members to connect, discuss trends, and exchange advice. Leading companies like Google, Microsoft, and AWS maintain an official presence on the site. As AI reshapes code creation, DEV serves as a critical hub for collaborative learning and career advancement. For more information, visit dev.to.
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