Slack Is Releasing Botkit To Make Bots Easier To Build

Slack, the increasingly popular team-messaging software, wants more developers to build apps that hook into its work-chat software.

So it's announcing new software, Botkit, to simplify the building of such apps; a directory to make it easier to find them; and an investment fund to back developers, particularly ones building apps solely for Slack. (Slack executives are expected to make the announcements at an event in San Francisco Tuesday evening.)