AppDirect has reached an agreement to acquire Tackle. The companies expect to close the deal within a week.
Tackle is a cloud go-to-market platform that software vendors use to list and sell products across AWS, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud and other marketplaces. The acquisition brings together two firms positioned at the center of a structural shift in how enterprises buy software.
Cloud marketplaces have become a fast-growing procurement channel. Tackle’s 2025 State of Cloud GTM Report projects marketplace revenue will climb from 20% to 32% of total B2B software sales next year. That would be a 60% jump. Tackle’s platform currently supports more than $20 billion in cloud marketplace transactions.
AppDirect chairman and CEO Nicolas Desmarais said the acquisition aligns with the company’s long-term strategy to consolidate how to buy and sell technology.
“Our vision is to be the number one subscription commerce platform for buying, selling, and managing technology,” Desmarais said.
Over the summer, AppDirect acquired DNE Resources to expand in Canada. Then, AppDirect acquired Broker Online Exchange to expand into energy.
Why AppDirect wants to acquire Tackle
For AppDirect, folding Tackle into its platform extends its reach beyond direct and channel distribution into hyperscaler-led purchasing. That has become an increasingly important route to market for software vendors who want to meet enterprise buyers where they transact.
AppDirect said the combined platform will offer a single system for marketplace listings, co-sell automation, native billing, buyer insights and analytics. AppDirect’s network of more than 14,000 technology advisors will back it.
Tackle was founded in 2016 and backed by Andreessen Horowitz and Bessemer Venture Partners. It has built its business around simplifying marketplace participation for independent software vendors (ISVs). Its software helps ISVs become transactable across multiple clouds, manage private offers, and streamline co-sell activity with cloud alliance teams.
Tackle CEO John Jahnke said accelerating adoption of AI is pushing more enterprise buyers toward cloud marketplaces.
“We knew the cloud would change the way software was bought and sold and have been blown away by the continued acceleration in the cloud go-to-market being driven by AI,” Jahnke said. “Together with AppDirect, ISVs get the best of both worlds: hyperscaler marketplace scale plus AppDirect-powered storefronts and channel reach — with co-sell, private offers, and billing that just works.”
How the acquisition will benefit AppDirect and Tackle
The companies said customers will see immediate impacts once the transaction closes:
- ISVs using Tackle will maintain their existing marketplace listings and workflows, while gaining optional access to AppDirect-powered storefronts and tools to launch their own branded marketplaces.
- Marketplace operators will be able to syndicate a broader catalog of technology services.
- Channel partners and advisors will have more options to support marketplace-assisted deals with unified billing and payouts.
- Cloud providers gain a global distribution partner offering programmatic co-sell and transaction support across all routes to market.
The deal strengthens its push to offer an end-to-end subscription commerce ecosystem. AppDirect said more than 1,000 providers, 14,000 advisors and 16 million subscribers use its platform.
If completed as expected, the acquisition would position AppDirect as one of the few companies capable of spanning direct sales, channel distribution and hyperscaler marketplaces within a single unified platform — a model that reflects how quickly software buying behavior is shifting toward cloud-mediated procurement.
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