“Affiliate app network” apprupt gets major backer in Deutsche Telekom

German application service apprupt has an interesting business model. It proposes a “decentralised network” of small app stores that can better target applications at users (more detail after the break). And now it has announced its first major network backer, from the venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom.

What does apprupt do?

Basically, it places small application stores in mobile and on-line websites. For example, the mobile site for Financial Times Germany has an apprupt store front embedded on it. What apprupt does then is target a selection of applications to that store front, based on what a visitor to that site might be interested in. It’s a way for developers to avoid having their apps get lost in the ocean of apps on a major store.

What’s the announcement?

“apprupt (www.apprupt.com), the first affiliate network for mobile applications, announced today the closing of a financing round with the Connected Life and Work Fund managed by T-Venture, the venture capital firm Neuhaus Partners and KfW. The funding is currently subject to approval by antitrust authorities.”

What we think?

So far, apprupt has been surviving on it’s pay-per-download revenue stream from developers, along with whatever venture capital it had already seeded. But today’s announcement is a bigger fish entirely. T-Venture is the venture capital arm of Deutsche Telekom. One of the funds it manages, Connected Life and Work Fund, has decided that apprupt has positioned itself well enough within the German market to be worth a shot. Harald Eisenächer, Senior Vice President Personal & Social Networking of Deutsche Telekom, said: “mobile applications are currently one of the fastest growing market segments. apprupt is well positioned with its range of products and services and offers both app developers as well as publishers an innovative and convincing solution.”