Digital Turbine has invested in the Aptoide app store

Aptoide, an alternative Android app store, has received €8.5 million in funding from Digital Turbine, a platform specialising in mobile growth and monetisation.

The investment will primarily be used to support the development and promotion of GamesHub and Catappult, two platforms in the Aptoide ecosystem.

GamesHub is a joint venture between Digital Turbine and Aptoide. This game app store is slowly gaining a reputation as an alternative store in the US. The funds raised will be used to expand its market presence and reach 80-100 million devices by the end of 2023. The company has already entered into several strategic partnerships with major carriers in the US including ATT, Verizon, USCellular, Tracfone, Cricket and BLU US.

Catappult is an alternative mobile game distribution and monetisation platform that already has hundreds of millions of users connected to more than 20 alternative app stores worldwide. It allows developers to promote and monetise their apps. Catappult reported strong results for 2022. Monthly revenue for developers using Catappult increased by over 20 per cent, demonstrating the platform’s ability to deliver significant growth for mobile game developers.

The company’s top 5 games – Lords Mobile, Mobile Legends, Clash of Kings, Z Day and War and Magic – performed exceptionally well in terms of ARPPU (Average Revenue Per Paying User), with an average revenue per paying user of over $100, setting a new industry standard in the mobile games sector.

In 2022, Catappult reached an important milestone, crossing the 100 million downloads mark and generating $60 million in sales.

“We are very excited to strengthen our partnership with Digital Turbine and leverage their expertise to enhance app discovery and distribution,” commented Paulo Trezentos, CEO of Aptoide, on the strategic partnership and investment. “This investment highlights Aptoide’s incredible growth and potential, demonstrating the enormous potential of this partnership to transform the mobile app distribution landscape.”

Aptoide also plans to use the cash raised to buy back shares from current shareholders.

This is not the first time the two companies have collaborated. Late last year, Digital Turbine announced a strategic investment in Aptoide, leading a Series B funding round totalling $12 million, which included investments from Faurecia, Portugal Ventures and the 200M Fund.