AltStore, the EU's pioneering alternative app marketplace, just doubled down on its challenge to Apple's monopoly with a $6 million Series A from Pace Capital and a bold move into the fediverse. The startup is launching its own Mastodon server to connect app updates across the decentralized social web, while expanding to Australia, Brazil, and Japan this year.
AltStore is making its biggest bet yet on the future of app distribution beyond Apple's walled garden. The alternative app store that helped crack open the EU market just secured $6 million in Series A funding from Pace Capital, giving the venture firm a 15% stake and bringing Flipboard CEO Mike McCue onto the board.
But the real story isn't just the funding - it's what AltStore is building with it. The company is launching its own Mastodon server, creating the first bridge between app discovery and the decentralized social web known as the fediverse. When developers opt in, their app updates will automatically flow to users following them on Mastodon, Meta's Threads, or eventually Bluesky.
"That means, if you have a Mastodon account or a Threads account, you could follow these accounts," co-founder Riley Testut told TechCrunch. "Then, in your timeline, you'd see when there was an app update." Users can reply to apps directly from their social accounts, like or share updates, and discover new apps through their existing social feeds.
The timing couldn't be better for AltStore's expansion. Since the EU's Digital Markets Act forced Apple to allow alternative app stores, AltStore has quietly built serious momentum. The platform now hosts over 100 developers - more than Epic Games offers on its alternative games store, according to Testut. "We have hundreds of thousands of users," he says. "Wonderful and good numbers."
Those numbers got a boost from some unexpected sources. AltStore's partnership with Epic to bring Fortnite to EU iPhones grabbed headlines, but their biggest traffic driver is actually Hot Tub - the first iOS pornography app that became their most popular download. The adult content market represents exactly the kind of developer that Apple's strict policies have shut out, and AltStore has embraced serving underserved niches.
The startup's influence extends beyond just hosting apps. When AltStore added the virtual machine app UTM in June 2024, it pressured Apple to reverse course and allow virtual machines in the official App Store. That's the kind of market-moving power that comes from offering developers what they can't get elsewhere - whether it's adult content, emulators like the popular Delta game emulator, or simply more flexible business models.
"Developers like that the store supports different types of business models," whether traditional subscriptions or user donations toward development, TechCrunch reports. AltStore began allowing free self-publishing in April, removing another barrier that indie developers face on Apple's platform.
Now the New York-based founders are using their $6 million war chest to expand globally. Australia, Brazil, and Japan are all getting AltStore this year as competition laws spread beyond Europe. The funding allows them to hire beyond the two co-founders, Riley Testut and Shane Gill, who have been running the operation solo.
But AltStore isn't just taking from the open source ecosystem - they're giving back. The company is donating $500,000 to fediverse projects, including $300,000 to Mastodon development and funding for tools like Bridgy Fed, Ivory, and PeerTube. It's a smart investment in the infrastructure they're now depending on.
The fediverse integration represents something bigger than just another social feature. By connecting app updates to the open social web, AltStore is betting that discovery will increasingly happen outside of centralized app stores. When someone shares excitement about a new app update on Threads, their followers across the fediverse can discover and download it directly.
That vision puts AltStore on a collision course with both Apple and Google, who have built their mobile empires on controlling app distribution and discovery. But with regulators worldwide scrutinizing big tech's app store monopolies, AltStore's timing looks prescient.
AltStore's combination of venture funding and fediverse integration signals a new phase in the battle for mobile app distribution. While Apple and Google have controlled discovery through their centralized stores, AltStore is betting the future belongs to decentralized social networks and developer-friendly policies. With expansion to three new markets this year and a growing roster of developers who can't or won't work within Apple's restrictions, the startup is positioning itself as the platform for the post-app store era. Whether that vision resonates with mainstream users - or just remains a haven for emulators, adult apps, and indie developers - will determine if AltStore becomes a footnote or a genuine threat to the mobile duopoly.
