TNW – Jan 19 – Founded in April 2011, I-um is an online dating service that has seen incredible success in the last seven months. Because it’s still popular practice in Korean culture to feel pressured into getting married as one gets older, young people are often set up on blind dates by family and friends instead of meeting singles on their own. I-um is primarily aimed at students and adults aged 20-39 and introduces users to one new person each day. If the interest is mutual, contact details are exchanged so they can begin talking. Since January 2011, users have increased from 40,000 to 190,000, a 375% increase. The site has also seen a revenue boost of 87%, and some 20 couples have already been married as a result of meeting through I-um.
Month: January 2012
Flavor Connect Celebrates Two Years
PR WEB – Jan 19 – Chatroulette online dating site Flavor Connect is celebrating its second birthday after launching in January 2010, and has grown to be the hotspot for young singles looking to hook up. Site founder and company President Khaled Ridgeway attributes the sites candy theme as the key ingredient to their success and growth. Members can easily identify potential matches as Vanilla for fidelity, Chocolate for fantasy, and Strawberry for fling, and their Chatroulette “taste test room” gives members the opportunity both engage in and pass on conversation with other members quickly and easily. Flavor Connect’s site recently went through an appearance upgrade, now offering a cleaner, smoother interface and integration with its “Sweet Talk” weblog that offers dating and relationship advice.
The full article was originally published at PR Web, but is no longer available.
Eater.com And HowAboutWe Launch ‘Eater Dating’ For Foodies
GIGAOM – Jan 18 – The popular blog network Eater.com has teamed up with the online matchmaking service HowAboutWe to launch “Eater Dating”, bringing foodies together for dynamic first dates. HowAboutWe has a simple solution to online dating – instead of choosing your date based on a profile, they allow you to choose your date based on their brief description of a first date event they would like to do. For Eater Dating, they allow you to choose your date based on foodie-centric dates, such as “Sit outside and eat oysters at the Ferry Building”. Both individual sites have gained traction amongst the urban professional crowd, and Eater Dating will allow this group to kill two birds with one stone: meeting someone new for a first date while trying out a new restaurant or bar you’ve been dying to check out anyway.
Internet Dating Acquisitions
Companies Sold
– Meet Kinksters, ?, May 2025, acquired by BeeDee
– ValeyMatch, ?, April 2025, acquired by DateSpot
– Salams, ?, (late 2023), acquired by Match Group
– ParshipMeetGroup, General Atlantic stake for €98M, March 2025, acquired by ProsiebenSat1
– Three Day Rule, ?, November 2024, acquired by a private investment group
– Filteroff, ?, October 2024, acquired by Spark Networks
– Lex, ?, October 2024, acquired by 9count
– Match Group, 6.5|% stake, July 2024, acquired by Starboard
– Match Group, $1B stake, January 2024, acquired by Elliott Investment Management
– Spark Networks, EUR 164k, January 2024, acquired by The MGG Investment Group
– Official, ?, May 2023, acquired by Bumble
– Blue City, controlling share, ?, March 2023, acquired by Newborn Town
– S’More, ?, February 2023, acquired by Tawkify
– Mango, ?, February 2023, acquired by Kindred
– Spotted, ?, November 2022, acquired by Dua
– Dive, ?, September 2022, acquired by LuvHut
– DatingCafe.de, ?, September 2022, acquired by ICONY
– The League, ?, July 2022, acquired by Match Group
– Fruitz, ?, February 2022, acquired by Bumble
– Aisle, 76% stake for $12M, January 2022, acquired by Info Edge
– Mötesplatsen, ?, November 2021, acquired by Dating Central Europe Zrt.
– TheIntro, ?, October 2021, acquired by Venntro Media Group
– Cupid Media, $51M, July 2021, acquired by Dating Group
– ShaadiSaga, ?, July 2021, acquired by Matrimony
– Between, ?, May 2021, acquired by Krafton
– ICONY, ? (minority stake), Apr 2021, acquired by Russmedia Equity Partners
– Hyperconnect, $1.7B, Feb 2021, acquired by Match Group
– Once, $18M, Jan 2021, acquired by Dating Group
– RSVP, ?, Jan 2021, acquired by Daniel Haigh & Dave Heysen
– Finka, $36.5M, Nov 2020, acquired by BlueCity (Blued)
– SuperDate, ?, Sep 2020, acquired by Skye Life Ventures, Ltd.
– Paktor, ?, May 2020, acquired by Kollective Ventures
– Lesdo, ?, Aug 2020, acquired by Blue City
– Grindr, ~$608.5M, Mar 2020, acquired by San Vicente Acquisition
– The Meet Group, $500M, Mar 2020, acquired by NucomGroup
– Dil Mil, cash & stock valued at $50M, November 20119, acquired by Dating.com Group
– Magic Lab, ? (the deal valued the company at $3B), November 2019, acquired by Blackstone
– SD Ventures, $215M in cash and an equity stake, October 2019, acquired by Dating.com Group
– Now Dating (controlling stake), ?, August 2019, acquired by SC Holdings
– Harmonica, ?, August 2019, acquired by Match Group
– Jack’d, ?, July 2019, acquired by Scruff
– Randivonal (majority stake), ?, July 2019, acquired by Russmedia
– Pickable, ?, May 2019, acquired by Once
– Zoosk, $255M, March 2019, acquired by Spark Networks
– Growlr, $11.8M, March 2019, acquired by The Meet Group
– Hinge, the rest of the company (49%), ?, February 2019, acquired by Match Group
– Dating apps owned by PeerStream, ?, February 2019, acquired by The Dating Company LLC
– NowDating (5% of the company), ?, January 2019, acquired by SC Holdings Corp.
– O-Net, ?, December 2018, acquired by Polaris
– eHarmony, $85M, October 2018, acquired by ProsiebenSat1
– BNK Lab, $10M, July 2018, acquired by CareLabs
– Hinge (51% of the company), ?, June 2018, acquired by Match Group
– Baihe, $630M, May 2018, acquired by Guo Guangchang
– Huggle, ?, March 2018, acquired by Badoo
– ChristianSingleMix, ?, March 2018, acquired by Christian Connection
– SecondShaadi.com, ?, February 2018, acquired by Matrimony.com
– Tantan, $760M, February 2018, acquired by Momo
– Zhenai, ?, November 2017, acquired by PAG
– PozMatch.com, ?, October 2017, acquired by PositiveSingles.com
– Ohlala, ?, October 2017, acquired by Pia Poppenreiter
– Luvbyrd, ?, June 2017, acquired by Yonder
– Perfect Match Jakarta, ?, May 2017, acquired by Flutter Asia
– Happn (an unspecified stake), ?, May 2017, acquired by Lahari Audio
– Grindr (remaining 38,74% stake), $152M, May 2017, acquired by Kunlun Tech
– Crush Mobile Apps, ?, May 2017, acquired by Nortsight Capital
– Setipe, ?, May 2017, acquired by Lunch Actually
– GuySpy, ?, March 2017, acquired by Pink Triangle Press
– If(we), $60M, March 2017, acquired by MeetMe (The Meet Group)
– Goodnight, ?, February 2017, acquired by Paktor
– Blinq, ?, February 2017, acquired by outdoor ad firm APG/SGA
– Dus, ?, February 2017, acquired by Woo
– Down, “several million”, January 2017, acquired by Paktor
– Bae, ?, January 2017, acquired by if(we) (Tagged)
– Kingr, $150k, December 2016, acquired by Wixty
– Frivil, ?, December 2016, acquired by People Group (Shaadi)
– Match Group (208,427 shares), 3.7M, December 2016, ?
– Double, ?, November 2016, acquired by M14
– Noonswoon, $212k in stock, November 2016, acquired by DateTix
– AttractiveWorld, ?, October 2016, acquired by EliteSingles
– Spark Networks (568k shares), $938k, September 2016, acquired by Lloyd Miller
– Spark Networks (13.1k shares), $18,340, acquired by Lloyd Miller
– Vespa (gay city guide), ?, July 2017, acquired by Hornet
– Lovestruck, 2M shares and an earn-out consideration of $270k, July 2016, acquired by DateTix
– Skout, $28.5M in cash and ~5.37M common shares, June 2016, acquired by MeetMe
– Pigment (web development company), ?, June 2016, acquired by Widernet
– Match Group (200k shares sold by Sam Yagan), $2.6M, June 2016, ?
– Spark Networks (167.5k shares), $251k, June 2016, acquired by Lloyd Miller
– Love Systems, price unknown, May 2016, acquired by Agile Wings
– Match Group (157k shares), $2.1M, April 2016, acquired by Mazama Capital Management
– Match Group (127k shares), $1.7M, March 2016, acquired by Morgan Stanley
– Humin, price unknown, March 2016, acquired by Tinder
– Lulu, price unknown, February 2016, acquired by Badoo
– Spark Networks, $292.3k worth shares, January 2016, acquired by Lloyd I. Miller
– Grindr, $93M for 60% of the company, January 2016, acquired by Kunlun World Wide Technology
– Jiauyan, about $250M, will be finished in Q1 2016, acquired by Baihe
– Spark Networks, $820.6k worth shares, December 2015, acquired by Lloyd I. Miller
– Teamo.ru, ($25-40M), November 2015, acquired by Mamba
– JSwipe, $7M, October 2015, Spark Networks
– MeetNLunch, ?, October 2015, acquired by Lunch Actually
– Dating Factory, ?, September 2015, acquired by Agile Wings
– Cuddlr (now Spooonr), ?, September 2015, acquired by Hiplex
– Revealr, ?, August 2015, Venntro Media
– POF, $575M, July 2015, Match Group
– ElitePartner, EUR 22M, June 2015, Oakley Capital
– Eureka (Pairs & Couples apps), ?, May 2015, acquired by Match Group
– Mixology, ?, May 2015, acquired by AgapeMatch
– Matchify, ?, April 2015, acquired by Matrimony.com
– Rekindle, ?, March 2015, acquired by HubSpot
– SparkNetworks, 10k shares, $37.8k, March 2015, acquired by Lee K. Barba
– Thrill (25% stake), $1M, January 2015, People Group (Shaadi)
– Kiss Hugs, ?, January 2015, acquired by Crowd Mobile
– Tappy, ?, January 2015, acquired by Tinder
– Cupid’s mainstream dating sites, £3M, December 2014, acquired by Together Networks
– Tinder (“a small stake”), price unknown, October 2014, acquired by Benchmark
– Love Out Loud Asia, price unknown, October 2014, acquired by Lunch Actually
– Cupid (750k shares), ~ £165k, October 2014, acquired by Kestrel
– Dandy, price unknown, September 2014, acquired by Online Buddies
– moosify, price unknown, August 2014, acquired by Tastebuds.fm
– Flikdate, price unknown, August 2014, acquired by FlikMedia
– Spark Networks, $128k for 21.5k shares, July 2014, various buyers
– FriendScout24, price unknown, July 2014, acquired by Neu.de (Match.com)
– HowAboutWe, price unknown, July 2014, acquired by IAC
– Nixter, price unknown, May 2014, acquired by Skout
– Cupid, 1.4M shares, May 2014, acquired by Kestrel
– Cupid, 16% of shares, April 2014, sold by Toscafund to ?
– Tinder, 10% of shares, April 2014, acquired by IAC
– Spark Networks, 13k shares, March 2014, acquired by 402 Capital Llc
– Spark Networks, 112,561 shares, March 2014, acquired by 402 Capital Llc
– Spark Networks, 73,588 shares, $416k, February 2014, acquired by 402 Capital Llc
– Nerve.com, price unknown, January 2014, acquired by HowAboutWe
– True.com (the domain), $350k, January 2014, acquired by TrueCar.com
– MatchMate, price unknown, January 2014, acquired by LikeBright
– Meexo, price unknown, November 2013, acquired by Live Nation
– Spark Networks, 145k shares for $790, November 2013, acquired by Osmium Partners
– Scout24 (FriendScout24), 70% stake for ~1.5b Eur, November 2013, acquired by Hellman & Friedman
– Jack’d, price unknown, November 2013, acquired by Online Buddies
– Acquaintable, price unknown, October 2013, acquired by LikeBright
– e-Kontakt, price unknown, October 2013, acquired by Meetic
– Meetic, €29.5M for 6,7% stake, September 2013, acquired by Match.com
– FastLife, price unknown, September 2013, acquired by POF
– GolfMates.com, price unknown, July 2013, acquired by Avalanche LLC
– ReseauContact, price unknown, May 2013, acquired by Mediagrif
– Pastas Party (events for singles), price unknown, May 2013, acquired by Meetic
– Gaydar, price unknown, May 2013, acquired by Charlie Parsons
– eDarling, $30M, May 2013, eDarling bougth the 30% stake back from eHarmony
– SprayDate, price unknown, February 2013, acquired by Meetic
– Juedui100, price unknown, February 2013, acquired by Jiayuan
– SpeedDate price unknown, February 2013, acquired by IAC
– Massive Media (Twoo.com), 18.9M EUR, December 2012, acquired by Meetic
– CrossDating, price unknown, November 2012, acquired by Dating Factory
– UniformDating, £7M, September 2012, acquired by Cupid plc
– DateHookup, price unknown, August 2012, acquired by IAC
– e-kontakti.fi, price unknown, August 2012, acquired by Alma Media
– Smooch & WooWise, price unknown, May 2012, acquired by GlobalPersonals UK
– Ohhtel.com, price unknown, April 2012, acquired by AshleyMadison
– World Dating Partners (Datech), price unknown, April 2012, acquired by Dating Factory
– MaybeFriends, price unknown, February 2012, acquired by AnotherFriend
– Woo Media, price unknown, November 2011, acquired by Zoosk
– Yahoo, $190M stake, October 2011, sold its stake in BharatMatrimony
– Friend.ly, $5.5M, October 2011, acquired by Facebook
– Zhenai, 20% stake, September 2011, acquired by Match.com
– JigoCity, $65M, September 2011, acquired by FriendFinder Network
– AondeNamoro.com and SolteirosComFilhos.com, August 2011, $0.75M, acquired by Cupid plc
– Meetic, 76% stake, August 2011, acquired by Match.com
– PerfectMatch.com, price unknown, July 2011, acquired by FriendFinder Network
– OnlineLiebe GmbH, €2.75M (75% stake), June 2011, acquired by Cupid plc
– WomenWeb GmbH, €2.75M (75% stake), June 2011, acquired by Cupid plc
– IndianDating.com, $200,000, February 2011, acquired by Cupid plc
– OkCupid, $90M, February 2011, acquired by Match.com
– 12like GmbH, price uknown, January 2011, acquired by Parship
– Flirt.com, £800,000, December 2010, acquired by Easydate
– Lavalife, price unknown, November 2010, acquired by First Media Group
– Cupid’s Coach, price uknown, September 2010, acquired by eLove
– Cupid.com, £4.4M, September 2010, acquired by EasyDate
– PlanetSappho, £200,000, September 2010, acquired by EasyDate
– Granamor, £25,000, September 2010, acquired by EasyDate
– TraditionalSingleCatholics, price uknown, July 2010, acquired by CatholicMatch.com
– Dating.com domain, $1.75M, May 2010, acquired by unknown
– Allegran, price uknown, April 2010, acquired by EasyDate
– Singlesnet, price uknown, February 2010, acquired by Match.com
– MakeFriendsOnline.com, price uknown, November 2009, acquired by Anotherfriend.com
– Pre-Dating.com, price uknown, October 2009, re-acquired by its original founders
– DList.com, price uknown (majority stake), September 2009, acquired by OnlineBuddies (Manhunt.net)
– Oasis Active, 40% stake, September 2009, acquired by Network Ten
– Bentelhalal, $85M, August 2009, acquired by Yahoo!
– People Media, $80M, July 2009, acquired by Match.com
– Meetic, 27% stake, June 2009, by Match.com (exchanged for European operations)
– Engage.com, price uknown, April 2009, acquired by Spark Networks
– PlanetOut, $4.7M, January 2009, acquired by Regent and Here Network
– Better, price uknown, September 2008, acquired by Tsavo Media
– Mamba.ru, 30% stake, August 2008, acquired by Mail.ru
– Plutolife, $3.7M, July 2008, acquired by Jumbuck
– SpeedDater, price uknown, March 2008, acquired by EasyDate
– HotOrNot, $20M, February 2008, acquired by Avid Life Media
– RegionalHelpWanted.com, $100M, February 2008, acquired by onTargetJobs
– Senior.com, $1.8M, December 2007, acquired by FriendFinder (Various)
– LovingYou, price uknown, December 2007, acquired by SheKnows.com
– Various (FriendFinder), price uknown, December 2007, acquired by Penthouse Media
– Inferno, £3M, November 2007, acquired by Loopylove.com
– Facebook, $240M (1,6% stake), October 2007, acquired by Microsoft
– AshleyMadison, price uknown, August 2007, acquired by Avid Life Media
– Zencon (BlackPeopleMeet), price uknown, June 2007, acquired by American Capital Strategies
– Netclub, price uknown, June 2007, acquired by Match.com
– eDodo, price uknown, June 2007, acquired by Match.com
– HurryDate, price uknown, February 2007, acquired by Spark Network
– DatingDirect and Chemistry.co.uk, £27.3 million, January 2007, acquired by Meetic
– LoopyLove and GirlsDateForFree, £4.4M, May 2006, acquired by Daily Mail
– iLead Media, $7M in cash and $7M in common stock, December 2005, acquired by Think Partnership
– RSVP, $38.9M, July 2005, acquired by Fairfax Media
– Predating, price uknown, November 2004, acquired by Cupid.com
– KissyKat, price uknown, October 2004, acquired by Incode Corporation
Investment Rounds
– Sitch, $2M, Apr 2025, invested by A16z Speedrun and others
– Mattr, ~$153K, Feb 2025, crowdfunding
– KRUSH, ?, Dec 2024, invested by Mashup Ventures
– Fluttr, ~$450K, Oct 2024, invested by Zee Media
– FITFCK, £173K, Oct 2024, crowdfunding
– Juleo, $2.5M, Sep 2024, invested by angel investors
– Schmooze, $4M, Sep 2024, invested by Elevation Capital and others
– YouMatch, $1.5M, Sep 2024, invested by IOI Capital and others
– Spoony, ?, Sep 2024, invested by Antler
– Fuse, $830k, Aug 2024, invested by Nathan McCauley, co-founder of Anchorage Digital and others
– MM, $750k, September 2023, invested by SFC Capital & some angel investors
– CarpeDM, ?, August 2023, invested by Virginia Venture Partners
– Fluttr, ?, June 2023, invested by Times Group
– Meet7, $300k, May 2023, invested by Z1N Capital, Narendra Murkumbi, and Suhas Chandak
– Queer Spaces, $1M, January 2023, crowdfunding
– FITFCK, ?, December 2022, invested by Sam Harry and Martin Wood
– IRLY, $350k, November 2022, invested by Chris Kaufman, Kevin Edwards and several angel investors
– Ziinkle, $2.2M, November 2022, ?
– Urban Swan, $2M, October 2022, invested by Antler and more
– FITFCK, ?, October 2022, invested by Tim Stokely
– CarpeDM, $1M, October 2022, invested by Elevate Capital ond others
– Marriage Pact, $5M, September 2022, invested by Bain Capital Ventures and other investors
– Smitten, $10M, September 2022, invested by Makers Fund, Possible Ventures, Wonder Invest, and more
– Filteroff, $2M, August 2022, invested by ZX Ventures
– SwoonMe, $1M, April 2022, invested by Foxhog
– The Right Stuff, $1.5M, February 2022, invested by Peter Thiel
– Grazer, ~£400K, February 2022, crowdfunding on Seedrs
– As You Are, $250K, January 2022, ?
– CarpeDM, ?, December 2021, invested by VIPC’s Virginia Venture Partners
– XOXO, $5M, ? (earlier 2021), ?
– Tabby, $300K, November 2021, invested by Kevin O’Leary
– Fika, $1.6M, October 2021, seed funding round led by VNV Global
– Bare Dating, €456K, Aug 2021, raised via crowdfunding
– POM, £1.5M, Aug 2021, invested by undisclosed investors
– Lox Club, $1M, June 2021, invested by Bhad Bhabie, Lil Yachty and Adam Kluger
– Schmooze, $270K, 2021, invested by Ulu Ventures
– Qemistry, £250K, Apr 2021, raised on Crowdcube
– Iris, ?, Feb 2021, invested by Ruben Vardanyan
– S’More, $2.1M, Jan 2021, invested by Benson Oak Ventures and others
– Safe Soulmates, £114k, Jan 2021, funding grant from the National Lottery’s Reaching Communities fund
– Cobble, $3M, Oct 2020, invested by a group of investors including Kerr Tech Investments
– Yidui, ?, June 2020, invested by Sky9 Capital, Xiaomi and others
– Yidui, $10M, December 2019, invested by BlueRun Ventures
– S’More, $1M, November 2019, invested by Benson Oak Ventures and a number of private investors
– Right Hook, $200k, October 2019, ?
– Muzmatch, $7M, July 2019, invested by Luxor Capital, Y Combinator & others
– Go Crush, “mid-five-figure sum”, May 2019, invested by Joost Schwaner
– LBGTQutie, ?, April 2019, invested by Atari
– Sugarbook, “six-digit sum”, April 2019, ?
– Ponder, ?, December 2018, invested by Brand Capital
– Lumen, £3.5M, September 2018, invested by Andrey Andreev
– RealBlackLove, $15.4k (out of 200k goal), August 2018, multiple investors
– MeetMindful, $5.5M, June 2018, invested by ?
– CoffeeMeetsBagel, $12M, May 2018, invested by Atami Capital, Ajay Adav…
– Harmonica, $150k, April 2018, invested by 500 Startups
– Mi Media Manzana, ?, February 2018, invested by Axon Partners Group
– Blued, $100M, February 2018, invested by CDH Investments, UG Capital Investment and more
– Muzmatch, £1.5M, January 2018, invested byHambro Perks and Y Combinator
– Snap Interactive, $1M, December 2017, invested by Hershey Strategic Capital, LP
– Hater, $200k, November 2017, invested by Mark Cuban
– NearGroup, $1.6M, October 2017, invested by OpenOcean & others
– JigTalk, ?, August 2017, invested by Apadmi Ventures
– EastMeetEast, $3.2M, August 2017, invested by undisclosed investor
– Tantan, $70M, June, 2017, invested by YY and others
– Matchpool, 115k ETH, April 2017, crowdfunding
– Mayze, “six-digit amount”, March 2017, invested by Max-Josef Meier
– Aisle, ?, February 2017, invested by CIO Angel Network & others
– Blued, eight-digit amount, February 2017, invested by the investment arm of The Beijing News
– Queek’d, £30k, January 2017, invested by ?
– Chappy, ?, December 2016, invested by Bumble
– Jigtalk, £130k, December 2016, invested by ?
– Hornet, $8M, November 2016, invested by VC firm Ventech China & others
– Paktor, $32.5M, October 2016, invested by K2Global, PT Media Nusantara Citra Tbk & others
– Lunch Actually, “7-digit amount”, September 2016, invested by mixi and VC Fatfish
– Inclov, $149k, August 2016, invested by Sarbvir Singh, Raghav Bahl
– DatePlay, £200k, August 2016, crowdfunding
– Spark Networks, $7.8M, August 2016, PEAK6
– MeetMindful, $820, June 2016, ?
– Gather, $500k, June 2016, invested by Silicon Valley angel investors
– Once, $5M, May 2016, invested by LG Capital and Partech Ventures
– Three Day Rule, $1.2M, March 2016, invested by Dallas Angels Network & several individuals
– Siren, $500k, March 2016, invested by Half the World Holdings
– Mint, $1M, March 2016, invested by Baclava Lab
– Paktor, ?, March 2016, invested by MNC Media Investment
– GetVee Technologies, ?, February 2016, Lightspeed Venture Partners & others
– Ohlala, $1.7M, February 2016, ?
– Aisle, $183k, January 2016, invested by TermSheet and ah! Ventur
TermSheet and ah! Ventures
– DilMil, ?, December 2015, invested by the founders of US-based music streaming app Saavn
– Kickoff, $1.6M, October 2015, invested by Monashees Capital
– Threesome app, $500k, October 2015, ?
– Squad, $1.7M, October 2015, invested by First Round & Lerer Hippeau Ventures
– Teazr, $225k, September 2015, invested by SEED Capital and three private individuals
– Friendsy, $500k, August 2015, invested by Lerer Hippeau Ventures and Slow Ventures
– Yogrt, $3M, August 2015, invested by Centurion Private Equity and Linear Venture
– iCrushiFlush, ?, July 2015, invested by IDG Ventures
– Once, $3.5M, July 2015, invested by Partech Ventures and private investors
– Banihal, ?, June 2015, invested by Dr David Cheriton
– Dating LATAM (MiMediaManzana), ?, May 2015, SparkLabs
– Rendevoo, $150k, 2014-15, ? ($50k crowdfunding via Seedrs)
– SparkStarter, $250k, April 2015, ?
– Qingchifan, $20.5M, April 2015, invested by Vertex Ventures & Sequoia Capital & more
– Courtem, $3M, until March 2015, ?
– Truly Madly, $5.6M, March 2015, invested by Helion Venture Partners and Kae Capital
– Wigo, $1.5M, February 2015, ?
– Grouvly, $200k, February 2015, international angel investors
– Tantan, $5M, January 2015, invested by Bertelsmann Asia Investments and more
– Blinq, $500k, December 2014, Swiss angel investors
– Happn, $8M, December 2014, Alven Capital, DN Capital & business angels, such as Fabrice Grinda
– Paktor, $5M, November 2014, Vertex Venture Capital
– Vee, $1M, November 2014, Lightspeed Venture Partners
– ThreadDating, $585k, November 2014, 18 different investors
– Blued, $30M, October 2014, ?
– SingldOut, $600k, October 2014, undisclosed investors
– Rocket Internet (eDarling), $445M, August 2014, ?
– Heyy app, $25k, 2014, AccelerateBaltimore program
– Zank app, $3.25M, July 2014, ?
– Hinge, $4.5M, July 2014, VCs Founders Fund and Lowercase Capital
– Flikdate, $350k, June 2014, mbloom , backed by the Hawaii Strategic Development Corporation (HSDC)
– Moovz, $1.4M, May 2014, angel investors & Moovz’s legal advisory company
– Paktor, $500k, March 2014, ?
– Blued, $1.6M, February 2014, undisclosed investors
– Between (VCNC), $4M, February 2014, DeNa & others
– mBrace, unkonwn (seven figures), February 2014, ?
– LikeBright, $1M, December 2013, multiple investors, incl. Rudy Gadre
– DanLan (Blued App), $3M, 2013, ?
– Hinge, $4M, November 2013, invested by Great Oaks, Social + Capital, and more
– DatesMatch, £750K, October 2013, invested by private investors
– AshleyMadison, $50M, October 2013, invested by Fortress Investments
– HowAboutWe, $4.2M, invested by Khosla Ventures, RRE Ventures and ff Venture Capital
– Dattch, £100k,invested by Andy Phillips and Yannick Pons
– Noonswoon, $400k, invested by various investors
Khosla Ventures, RRE Ventures and ff Venture Capital
Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/25/howaboutwe-raises-4-2m-to-help-you-fall-and-stay-in-love/#xmEgcMA537pKWTLT.99
Read more at http://venturebeat.com/2013/09/25/howaboutwe-raises-4-2m-to-help-you-fall-and-stay-in-love/#xmEgcMA537pKWTLT.99
– MeetMe, $8M, May 2013, invested by Westech Investment Advisors
– Tastebuds.fm, $600k, April 2013, invested by Black Ocean
– Sonar, undisclosed sum, February 2013, invested by Big Fund
– LikeIt (formerly theCompleteMe), $500k, January 2013, invested by Western Technology Investment
– LikeBright, undisclosed sum, January 2013, invested by Big Fund
– DoingSomething, undisclosed sum (six figures), December 2012, invested by Highgate EIS Tech Fund
– AtThePool, $1M, November 2012, invested by Clearstone Venture Partners
– CoffeeMeetsBagel, $600k, September 2012, invested by Lightbank
– Tagged, $15M, August 2012, invested by Lighthouse Capital Partners and Comerica Bank
– Momo, $40M, August 2012, unknown investor
– 2LoveToday, $250k, June 2012, invested by ndArtemis Technologies
– IvyDate, $1.5M, June 2012, invested by a group of angel investors
– Skout, $22M, invested by Andreessen Horowitz
– Yoke app (Kingfish Lab), $500K, invested by Lerer Ventures and Softbank Capital
– Zoosk, January 2012, $3M, invested by Keating Capital
– Youja.cn, 2011, $3M, invested by VC funds at UMC Capital, The9 and World Trend Ventures
– eCift, €3M, December 2011, invested by 3TS Capital Partners
– Zin.gl, $600K, May 2011, invested by angel investors
– iWould, $750K, April 2011, invested by private investor
– Snap Interactive, $8.5M, January 2011, private placement transaction
– HowAboutWe, $3.1M, November 2010, invested by RRE Ventura
– FriendFinder Networks, $551M, October 2010
– Triangulate, $750K, July 2010, invested by Rick Thomson (Playdom Chairman)
– EasyDate, £10M, June 2010, invested by AIM Flotation
– Smartdate, €1.7M, March 2010, invested by European VC 360 Capital Partners
– Zoosk, $30M, December 2009, invested by Bessemer Venture Partners
– Ten Network, amount unknown, September 2009, invested by Oasis Active
– Viximo, $5M, April 2009, invested by North Bridge and Sigma
– Be2, €15M, November 2008, invested by Index Ventura
– SpeedDate.com, $8M, October 2008, invested by VC funding
– Ignighter, $1.2M, October 2008, Angel funding
– SpeedDate.com, $6M, August 2008, invested by Menlo Ventura
– Zoosk, $4.1M, June 2008, invested by Canaan Partners and ATA Ventura
– Jangl, $9M, May 2008, invested by unding from Storm Ventures, Labrador Ventures and Cardinal Ventura
– Iovation, $5M, February 2008, invested by SAP Ventures and European Founders ($5M)
– Woome, $3M, February 2008, invested by Mangrove, Atomico, Klaus Hammels and newcomer Oliver Jung
– BharatMatrimony.com, $11.75M, February 2008, invested by Mayfield Fund, Yahoo! and Canaan Partners
– Iovation, $10M, November 2007, invested by Intel Capital
– IceBreaker, $7.2M, June 2007
– MeetMoi, $1.5M, June 2007, invested by Acadia Woods Partners
– OkCupid, $6M, January 2007, invested by a group of angels
– Shaadi, $8M, March 2006, invested by India’s WestBridge Captital Partners
– Engage, $5M, year 2006, invested by Advanced Tech Ventures
– eHarmony, $110M, December 2004, invested by two Silicon Valley venture capital firms, Sequoia Capital and Technology Crossover Ventures
LoveTradies.com Celebrates Blue Collar Dating Trend
NEWSMAKER.COM.AU – Jan 18 – Launched by two Australian sisters in February 2011, LoveTradies.com is dedicated to tradies and servicepersons, and those who love them. ‘Tradie’ is an Australian slang term referring to a skilled tradesperson, including electricians, construction workers, tillers, plumbers, and carpenters. According to a recent survey, women are driven by instinct to find a partner who is strong and protective, valuing their family and career above all else, which has led to a shift towards blue collar workers as more desirable partners. LoveTradies.com is now available in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK.
GroupOut Launches Focused Events For Singles
JUNCTION 31 – Jan 18 – UK start-up GroupOut has introduced a white label service targeting singles in the UK dating industry that provides highly focused group outings for members of websites who offer the service. The idea was formed by some of the group’s founding team who felt uncomfortable meeting their dates for the first time in one-on-one environments, and preferred something involving more activities and events that allowed them to mingle more casually with a larger group of people. The service is already receiving great traction and feedback from singles, and GroupOut is in discussion with US and other overseas partners to bring this revenue share model to their doors.
iDate Pre-Conference And Virtual Trade Show Held On January 19, 2012
WEBWIRE – Jan 18 – Ticonderoga Ventures, Inc. will be holding a virtual convention and business networking event on Thursday, January 19, 2012 from 10:00am EST to 2:00pm EST at http://www.iDateVirtual.com. The one day free event will include many of those attending and exhibiting at the Internet Dating Conference in Miami from January 23-30, 2012. The virtual conference will provide a business networking opportunity as dynamic forms of networking will allow industry senior executives to meet online, introduce themselves, and plan meetings before meeting in Miami. Online registration is open and there is no fee to register or attend the virtual event.
Ignighter Is Now StepOut
OPW – Jan 17 – Ignighter, the group dating site, has recently changed its name to StepOut. Ignighter first started in New York in 2008 but became very popular in India so the company decided to rebrand the site for the Indian market and launch its operations in Mumbai, India. Ignighter raised $1.8M two weeks ago.
Youja.cn Secures $3m USD Series A Funding
PENN OLSEN – Jan 17 – China dating app U+ (Youja.cn) has secured $3m USD series A funding from VC funds at UMC Capital, The9 and World Trend Ventures. The funds will be used to improve service speed and grow membership further. U+ was set up by serial entrepreneurs who previously founded business social network Wealink.com and Mobile Software developer Vogins.
by Willis Wee
See full article at Penn Olsen
Mark Brooks: One to watch. Youja has a strong founder pedigree and is inspired by the best of the mobile dating apps in the West. Especially Skout, Flirtomatic and Badoo.
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
Check Criminal Records Of Online Daters, Experts Say
CBC NEWS – Jan 16 – Online dating companies should be taking advantage of the RCMP criminal records system to keep convicted criminals off their sites, say experts in the identity verification business. "There is no perfect instant criminal record system on the planet," David Dinesen told CBC News. "But Canada is the best in the world. No question." Criminal backgrounds of Canadian daters could be checked without breaking privacy laws, because the daters could authorize or volunteer to provide their criminal conviction record check to the dating sites, he said. Online dating companies such as PlentyofFish, Match.com, eHarmony and others should offer options to their Canadian clients. PlentyofFish, founded by Markus Frind, makes ~$30M annually from advertising on its website. The company espouses a "buyer beware" philosophy and posts warnings and safety tips for clients on its free site. eHarmony sent CBC News an email statement emphasizing that "eHarmony's efforts are focused on empowering people to use good judgment and to be responsible for their safety on eHarmony, as they would anywhere else. Since there is not a comprehensive database of criminal convictions and many crimes go unreported by the victims, eHarmony does not want to give its members a false sense of security. We make it very clear in several places throughout the site that eHarmony does not conduct criminal background checks on our members. In an email, Match.com told CBC News: "Match is always reviewing new ways to keep the community safe and is aware of RCMP National Repository of Criminal Records. Unlike the National Sex Offender Registry, against which Match.com screens against in the United States, the RCMP repository is not public information. Therefore, utilizing this information is not currently possible."
by Jeannie Stiglio
See full article at CBC News
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