Coding contests and recruitment site HackerRank (Interviewstreet, Inc.) has raised  $7.5 million in “strategic investment” from Recruit Holdings’ HR Technology Fund.

A Y Combinator graduate founded in 2012 by Vivek Ravisankar and Harishankaran Karunanidhi, the site focuses on competitive programming challenges for both consumers and businesses across four computer science domains: artificial intelligence, algorithms, function and programming, and machine learning.

Programming challenges can be solved in a variety of programming languages (such as Java, C++, PHP, Android, SQL, and others), and submissions are scored on the accuracy of their output and the execution time of their solution.

HackerRank focuses on a gamification concept of skill development and demonstration, with the company running contests for users, and ranking users based on the speed and accuracy.

The money making, recruitment side comes into the picture through the ability of those playing the contests, and being ranked, to link into companies looking to hire programmers in a particular programming field, and the resume of sorts is already on display through the very contests HackerRank offers.

“HackerRank is a great resource for HR managers,” Recruit HR Technology Fund President Chihiro Ueda said in a statement sent to SiliconANGLE. “As the demand for technology talent continues to outstrip supply, HackerRank offers an efficient way for HR professionals to evaluate talent beyond traditional means. They have built their reputation on being the go to community for tech talent analysis.”

Clever idea that works

Turning what essentially is a recruiting site into a giant coding game is a clever idea on every level, and it’s clearly working; over 1 million people compete in the contests and challenges, and companies, small, big or otherwise looking for programmers are embracing the service as a great way to find staff.

Among recent placements listed on the site include users who have ended up at companies including Facebook, Inc., CIA-backed Big Data analytics firm Palantir Technologies, Inc., Rocket Fuel, Inc., and others.

Including the new funding HackerRank has raised $19.9 million to-date. Previous investors include Khosla Ventures, ZenShin Capital, Battery Ventures, Y Comnbinator, and more.

The company said it would use the new funding to “rapidly accelerate its disruption of the tech hiring landscape.”