The story
The first stage of development was developed at the Caixa Mágica Summer Camp in 2009 then later in the scope of SAPO Summerbits.
The idea behind Aptoide came from different sources. On one hand, the research in Linux installers in Mancoosi European Project, Paulo Trezentos PhD project and Portugal Telecom A5 phone, project where the team participated.
In the end of 2010, it was launched in the Bazaar Android site. Bazaar Android provided the possibility for the users to create their own store. In August 2012, Aptoide and Bazaar Android brands were merged to allow a better communication.
In 2011, Aptoide S.A. was incorporated in Lisbon, Portugal, as a spin-off of CM Software.
In 2011, F-Droid was forked from Aptoide.
In 2013, Aptoide received a total of 750,000 euros in seed funding from Portugal Ventures.
In 2015, the company secured a Series A financing round of 3.7 million euros (4 million dollars), led by German venture capital firm e.ventures with co-investment from Gobi Partners (China) and Golden Gate Ventures (Singapore). The investment has allowed Aptoide to grow its team, currently having over 60 employees.
In 2014, Aptoide filed a European Union Antitrust complaint against Google, claiming that Google creates obstacles for users to install third-party app stores, links essential services with Google Play (thus blocking, again, these third-party app stores), and blocks access to Aptoide websites in its Chrome Web browser.
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In May 2015, Aptoide announced that it would start its operations in Asia by opening an office in Singapore.
In 2017, Aptoide announced that it would be working with AppCoin and "enter the digital currency business with the plainly named AppCoins. Launched in conjunction with the 2017 Web Summit edition, the $18 million Initial Coin Offering (ICO) will allow users to use AppCoins to pay each other or for in-app purchases, such as game upgrades." Appcoin's 200 million users will be incentivized to engage with advertising to earn currency.
From Wikipedia’s article on Aptoide, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4