Applivery, a tech platform for endpoint management and app distribution, has received a strategic investment from Supercell, the game studio behind global hits like Clash of Clans and Brawl Stars.

This investment will enable Madrid, Spain-based Applivery to accelerate its growth and continue innovating in the field of device and software management on a global scale.

“At Applivery, our mission is to provide companies with full control over their devices and apps in a simple and secure way. Supercell’s trust in our technology validates our vision and motivates us to keep developing even more innovative and scalable solutions,” said César Trigo, CEO of Applivery, in a statement.

Applivery helps companies of all sizes efficiently manage their Android, Apple, and Windows devices, streamline app development and automate software deployments while ensuring compliance with top security standards. Its app life cycle management combined with the zero-touch deployment technology and seamless integration with corporate identity providers make Applivery a key ally for organizations looking to optimize their digital operations.

The company has 25 people. It started some years ago in 2016, but it really got off the ground in 2022, when it raised a seed round.

Trigo has previously done work for Coca-Cola and McDonalds, building apps for them. At one point, they wanted to to do testing with the app before launching it into product. Trigo asked how many people would test it, and they said around 1,000. To do that, the company had to figure out how to distribute the app to the testers in a fair way, and it had to build the solution from scratch.

“Everything started there,” Trigo said in our interview.

That evolved into the first version of Applivery. It was an app distribution platform to help companies better manage the lifecycle of their apps before releasing them into the App Store and Google Play. After that, game development companies started using the platform to handle the lifecycle from quality assurance testing to the release of apps into the stores.

“That’s the main reason why Supercell decided to invest on us. They they knew us,” said Trigo. “They were looking for something to streamline the distribution of their apps internally. Because at that moment, they were using Microsoft App Center. And now Microsoft App Center is being sunset by Microsoft.”

The Microsoft product was the main competition for Applivery, and now it’s being retired by March 31.

“Within this last six months, it has been crazy. So all the big companies worldwide are moving away from them to Applivery,” he said. “Very big corporations, like Netflix, Citibank and Abbott, are moving to us.”

“We were truly impressed by the Applivery team and what they’ve built. As we looked for a trusted partner in app distribution, it became clear that Applivery was the right fit. We’ve been super impressed by the team and how they operate. Now, as we deepen our partnership, we’re excited to continue working together and supporting their growth,” said Vadim Liman, developer services lead at Supercell, in a statement.

“At Supercell Investments, we back both game studios and game tech teams that empower game developers. Our collaboration with Applivery is o to a great start, and it made perfect sense to strengthen our partnership with an investment. We believe in what César and the team are building and want to support them on their journey.” Jaakko Harlas, head of investments at Supercell, in a statement.

Applivery is a cloud-based Endpoint Management and App Distribution platform, designed to help businesses manage and secure their digital ecosystem efficiently. Its technology enables IT automation, integration with identity providers for single sign-on (SSO), and zero-touch deployment of devices and applications.

Supercell is a game company based in Helsinki, Finland, with offices in San Francisco, Seoul, and Shanghai. Since its launch in 2010, the company has brought six games to the global market: Hay Day, Clash of Clans, Boom Beach, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, and Squad Busters.

Applivery also makes a product that helps companies manage their devices and protect them. About 30% of revenue is coming from game development companies. Netflix uses Applivery for the games it is building within the Netflix app. Applivery is also working with Scopely, the maker of Monopoly Go.

Working with testers inside and outside a company

The main problem it solves is the manual process of handling and sending apps to others to make them installable in their devices. It has a simple way of distributing apps that are in pre-production, ready for testing purposes. Manual processes just don’t cut it.

“It is like the engine of a game development company that makes sure that the games or the apps are properly developed and that they can be made with confidence and be released input into production,” he said. “It’s also a very, very useful tool for gathering feedback before releasing apps into production as well in a controlled way.”

The system has two important pieces. One is the standard project management tool that companies use that is properly integrated into the work flow. And second is the continuous integration and continuous deployment of solutions that they are using and the connection with the repositories, so that when you build an app and it’s installed into a given device, you know from where this app is coming, what features it has, what fixes have been implemented so that testers know exactly what they have to test.

Reaching out to game developers

This is important, as game developers can use the platform to send pre-release software to the users so they can test the app before it goes into production. Most of the time, it is done for internal purposes. But there are times with beta tests where the app is tested outside of the organization in a controlled way. In this case, Applivery enables the team to know exactly who is installing or updating or removing the app.

If someone winds up sharing a game and they’re not supposed to do that, it can revoke access.

It took about three years to build the platform. The platform is designed to collect feedback from customers as they test an app in the real world.