(Bloomberg) -- AppDirect Inc., an online marketplace for buying, selling and managing apps, obtained $100 million in debt financing to propel its growth.

Canadian pension fund Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec is providing the funding to help AppDirect expand the financing it offers to users, the San Francisco-based startup said Tuesday. It adds to the $80 million received from CDPQ in 2021.

AppDirect, backed by JPMorgan Chase & Co., Foundry Group and Peter Thiel’s Mithril Capital, works as a subscription-based marketplace for a range of software. Its platform connects over 1,000 tech providers to five million subscribers through 10,000 technology advisers who refer or resell solutions from its catalog.

The startup, which was founded in 2009 and reached a $1 billion valuation in 2015, is piloting a marketplace for artificial intelligence apps and plans a full rollout in the coming months. The AI offerings will allow customers to build AI bots based on their choice of large language model, from the likes of OpenAI’s GPT-4, Meta Platforms Inc.’s Llama, Alphabet Inc.’s Lamda and Cohere.

“Combining our marketplace expertise, digital commerce platform capabilities, and the massive application of AI, AppDirect is in a distinct position to accelerate and democratize AI adoption for non-technical users,” Chief Executive Officer Nicolas Desmarais said via email.

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