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 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.
