Alternative app store AltStore raises $6M, connects with the fediverse

Summary

The third-party app store known as AltStore, one of the first companies to offer an alternative app marketplace in the European Union, is preparing to connect its platform with the open social web known as the fediverse. The move would connect users on other open social apps, like Mastodon or Meta’s Threads, with updates from their favorite apps in a new way. In addition, the startup is announcing its first funding round from outside investors, with a $6 million Series A from Pace Capital. The deal gives the venture firm a 15% equity stake in AltStore and will allow the company to hire a team beyond its co-founders, Riley Testut and Shane Gill. Flipboard CEO Mike McCue, a fediverse backer, is also now joining the startup’s board. The founders, now based in New York, say the new capital will help them to capitalize on the potential for alternative app stores both in the EU and beyond as new competition laws are passed. Already, the startup has plans to bring its storefront to markets including Australia, Brazil, and Japan this year. To do so, the company needed to bring on more staff, which the new funds now allow. AltStoreImage Credits:AltStore AltStore has seen notable growth since the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) opened up competition in the app store market, forcing tech giants like Apple to permit new rivals to operate. While the startup offers its own third-party apps, led by video game emulator Delta, it began adding other third-party apps in June 2024. This included the virtual machine app UTM, a move that pressured Apple to open up its own App Store to allow virtual machines. AltStore also partnered with Epic Games in August of last year to bring Fortnite and other mobile games to its EU storefront, AltStore PAL. The company also entered the adult app market this year with the decision to host an app called Hot Tub, which was the first iOS app for pornography and is now its top app. In April, AltStore began allowing developers to self-publish their apps fo...