TECH CRUNCH – May 12 – Symend, a Calgary, Canada-based company that builds behavioural analytics into customer engagement products to identify customers having trouble with their bills, and then suggests alternatives to keep them from defaulting altogether, has picked up $52M in funding. The company has been around since 2016 and has to date "treated" ~10M customers, on behalf of its enterprise clients. This round is being led by Canadian VC Inovia Capital, with participation from Ignition Partners, Impression Ventures, BDC Capital's Women in Technology Fund, Mistral Venture Partners, and angel investor Markus Frind (the Canadian founder and former CEO of dating site PlentyofFish).
Month: May 2020
Live Streaming Platform M17 Raises $26.5M in Series D Round
DEALSTREET ASIA – May 11 – M17 Entertainment has landed $26.5M in a Series D funding round led by the Temasek-backed Vertex Growth Fund. The company will focus on deepening its presence in Japan and the rest of developed Asia, while planning expansion into the US and new markets such as the Middle East. M17 said it has the largest live streaming platform in developed Asia, with ~60% market share by revenue in Japan and Taiwan. M17’s estimated annual revenue is $180M. In 2018, M17 raised $25M. The company also raised a $40M Series A round in 2017. M17 was formed in April 2017 after the merger of Singapore-based Paktor Group and Taiwan-based 17 Media, a regional live streaming company. The company's main dating apps are Paktor and Goodnight. M17 had planned to list its Paktor dating and networking app on the New York Stock Exchange in a $115M IPO in 2018, but it withdrew the application after the IPO roadshow only raised $60M.
by Leslie Shaffer
See full article at DealStreet Asia
See the top news on Paktor
See the top news on Goodnight
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Matrimony.com: No Growth in a Growth Market
MONEYLIFE – May 11 – Matrimony.com Ltd offers a platform for online matchmaking and marriage services, one of the first companies to provide such services in India. It now has a database of 4.38M active profiles. Matrimony has 134 retail centres where customers can walk in and seek the assistance to register on websites or make payment for the matchmaking product. Its flagship brand, BharatMatrimony, has 15 language-based domains under its umbrella. Matchingmaking services makes up 97% of its business revenue. Matrimony also caters in the marriage service industry. The wedding services industry is worth ~$56B in India. The matchmaking and wedding industry has been growing at 20-25% every year. 10-12M marriages take place annually in India. Matrimony's 2019 revenues grew just 4% from Rs335crore ($44M) in FY2018 to Rs348crore ($46M) for FY2019. Matchmaking segment grew 9.49% YOY. Revenues for marriage services declined by 22.7% for the same period. As far as the profitability margins are concerned, Matrimony has been able to increase its operating profit margins since FY2015. Margins have improved from 3% in FY2016 to 14% for FY2019. Matrimony is currently trading at Rs341 ($4.5) which is 65% below its issue price of Rs985 ($13).
The Meet Group Powers Boom in Safe Social Media Speed Dating Sessions
FORBES – May 11 – The Meet Group provides interactive live video solutions for its apps – MeetMe, LOVOO, Skout, Tagged and Growlr, and also Match Group's Plenty of Fish. Across that spectrum, The Meet Group works to ensure safety and security for its social media connections. Recently, the live meet-up sections of MeetMe, Skout and Plenty of Fish introduced NextDate speed dating sessions with built-in The Meet Group Technology. Running now through May 30, those sites will host Speed Dating Social Hours at 10PM and 11PM ET, every Thursday and Saturday. The Meet Group will reward those who find their match on NextDate. The first 25 couples to match will receive 8K ($50) credits redeemable on the MeetMe, Skout, and Plenty of Fish dating apps to buy and send gifts to members who are live-streaming on the apps or playing NextDate on any of the social media platforms.
by John Scott Lewinski
See full article at Forbes
Gleeden Crosses One Million Users in India
INDIAN EXPRESS INDULGE – May 11 – Gleeden, the extramarital dating app has crossed the milestone of one million users in India. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gleeden recorded +166% new subscriptions compared to January and February 2020.
Gay Men in South Korea Are Being Hunted on Dating Apps
Facebook Update Crashes Tinder and Other Rivals
BBC – May 11 – Facebook has apologised after its latest software update crashed rival apps on iPhones and iPads. Tinder, music-streaming app Spotify and video platform TikTok were among those rendered unusable. The problem affected apps that had integrated the "login with Facebook" feature, which eliminates the need for a separate username and password. Facebook said it had "identified the issue quickly and resolved it".
Hackers Are Selling 73M User Records, Including Zoosk’s
by Catalin Cimpanu
See full article at ZDNet
Mark Brooks: I asked Eric Eichmann, the CEO of Spark Networks for comment on this. He said, "Data safety and customer security are top priorities for Zoosk and for Spark Networks. As such, we are taking this weekend's news of a potential data attack extremely seriously. We have opened an investigation into the claim and will be working with external advisors and the appropriate authorities to assess validity. We will take all relevant measures that are necessary to ensure the integrity and protection of any user data, including those of a preventive nature."
80% of Matchmakers Now Offer Coaching
Dig: Doggie Dating App for Dog Lovers
VERY LOCAL NEW ORLEANS – May 8 – Doggie dating app Dig was created and developed in New Orleans by two sisters – Leigh and Casey Isaacson. The idea for the app came in 2016, shortly after Casey went through a tough break-up. "She was dating a guy who tried to be a 'dog person,' but it eventually became obvious he wasn't," Leigh remembers. As the relationship went on, he became less and less welcoming of a dog that was such an important part of Casey's life. Leigh notes that 55% of single people in the U.S. own pets, with dogs leading the way. Most dog owners can't imagine life without their four-legged friend. Those without dogs, however, sometimes bristle at the idea of adding extra responsibility to their lives. This fundamental difference is at the heart of the creation of Dig. Today Dig has ~200K users in cities all across America. Dig was invited to join the Internet Dating Excellence Association (IDEA) and Leigh was featured as one of the top 24 most influential people in the dating industry worldwide by GDI.