The Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) is adding 100 million US dollars, or the equivalent of 138 million Canadian dollars, to the technological financing platform developed in Montreal by the Californian company AppDirect.
This second investment by CDPQ in the “AppDirect Capital” platform, after that of US$80 million in 2021, increases the amount of CDPQ’s investments in the systems firm to nearly US$280 million (approximately CAN$380 million). AppDirect B2B platform.
The Caisse’s first investment, to the tune of US$100 million, dates back to 2020 when it took a stake in the share capital of AppDirect.
Based in San Francisco and chaired by Quebecer Nicolas Desmarais, AppDirect has one of its main technological development centers in Montreal, with just over 200 employees.
In its corporate communications, AppDirect describes itself as “a subscription-based business-to-business (B2B) commerce platform that brings together vendors, advisors and technology companies in one place to make it easy to sell, buy and manage tools technological”.
According to AppDirect, its business platform brings together “more than 1,000 suppliers, 10,000 advisors and five million subscribers who rely on its commerce ecosystem to drive innovation, growth and success for their businesses.”
AppDirect’s user base includes large companies such as Microsoft, Google, Deutsche Telekom, Jaguar Land Rover and ADP.
In addition to its headquarters in San Francisco and its technology development center in Montreal, AppDirect has business offices in Calgary, London and Munich, Europe, as well as Sydney, Australia, Buenos Aires, in Argentina, and Pune, India.
From the perspective of Marc Cormier, Senior Vice President and Head of Fixed Income at CDPQ, “since our initial funding in 2021, AppDirect has demonstrated its ability to accelerate business connectivity and competitiveness.”
“As part of this partnership, our new investment continues to promote the implementation of solutions essential to the digital economy, while generating stable returns for our client-investors,” said Mr. Cormier in a press release.
Among AppDirect’s top executives, Emanuel Bertolin, chief revenue officer, notes that “to remain competitive in an ever-changing market, technology providers need rapid access to capital to accelerate their growth.”
“With AppDirect Capital,” says Bertolin, “these technology providers can leverage innovative financing solutions to grow their business or invest in its future. This is why it was essential to strengthen access to this program. »
For his part, the President and CEO of AppDirect, Nicolas Desmarais, indicates that “CDPQ and AppDirect have often worked together over time, and this new investment reinforces the commitment of both organizations to growth and the transformation of AppDirect’s channel partners and technology advisors.”