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Month: February 2021

Billionaire Ruben Vardanyan Invests in AI-Based Dating Service iris Dating

Posted on February 28, 2021

Iris iconFORBES – Feb 24 – Vardanyan became a shareholder in iris Dating (NYC) which is powered by AI. "I understand that if by 2030 45% of Europeans are single, and if we see that people live another 30-40 years longer and at the same time many of them do not have a second half, then loneliness becomes one of the most important elements of the future world," Ruben reasoned.

iris Dating uses AI to understand the visual preferences of each user. AI determines what is interesting to a particular person and finds the photo which the user will like. On dating apps women like 3-5% of male profiles. On iris, girls like 30%. The service has selfie verification, and a reliability rating. Growth Director Daniel Mori is on the team and was VP Marketing at Zoosk for 5 years.

Mark Brooks (of Courtland Brooks) says "AI is most useful when we can see if people are successful in relationships. But this is difficult to do because users remove dating apps when they decide to end their online dating, which usually means they are happy or unhappy. Typically, we don't know the exact cause, and the AI ​​isn't getting the most optimal information." He estimates that it will cost $400,000 to develop a scalable, world-class dating application.

by Irina Yuzbekova
See full article at Forbes

See the top news on iris Dating

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Ashley Whillans – Reclaiming Time, Living a Happier Life, and Improving Relationships

Posted on February 25, 2021

LTR – Feb 25 – Over 80% of working adults report feeling "time poor." The added stress of feeling like there is not enough time in the day to accomplish necessary tasks has had negative impacts on health and social relationships. Ashley Whillans, Assistant Professor in Negotiations, Organizations, and Markets at Harvard Business School discusses the importance of making smart decisions to balance time and money. According to research, the detrimental effects of time poverty surpass those of unemployment. The pandemic and working from home have increased the daily workload and aggravates the problem. Professor Ashley Whillans provides several proven strategies to reclaim time to live a happier life in the latest video in the LTR Conference series.

LTR stands for Love, Technology, Relationships and the online conference covers the Internet dating and Online Social Communities space. It is for members of IDEA and OSCA.

The November LTR was kindly sponsored by RealMe, vPaaS by The Meet Group, Utopia Analytics, Real Gifts & Courtland Brooks.

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Bumble Has Taken off Since Its IPO but It’s Way Overvalued

Posted on February 25, 2021

Bumble logo 2020INVESTORPLACE – Feb 25 – Bumble has had a very successful IPO. One reason why BMBL stock has done so well after its IPO (up $28 from its $43 IPO price last week), is the high EV-to-EBITDA. MatchGroup made $2.4B and made EBITDA of $794.5M. As MTCH stock has an EV of $46.2B, its EV-to-EBITDA multiple is 58x. By comparison, Bumble made an adjusted EBITDA of $144.4M. This means its EV-to-EBITDA multiple is 56x. In other words, BMBL has a similar EV-to-EBITDA multiple compared to Match Group. But there is a problem. Bumble is not worth this high a multiple. Bumble is not worth more than $43.45 per share.

by Mark R. Hake
See full article at Investorplace

See the top news on Bumble

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Matrimony.com Zooms 43% in 2 Days, Scales Fresh Record High

Posted on February 24, 2021

Matrimonycom linkedinBUSINESS STANDARD – Feb 24 – JP Morgan Asset Management, which holds shares in Matrimony.com, is offloading its stake in the company via open markets through a bulk deal. The stock has surged 362% from its 52-week low of Rs 251 ($3.5) in March 2020. Shares of Matrimony.com hit a record high of Rs 1,160 ($16) after surging 19% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday. The stock has zoomed 43% in the past two trading days.

See full article at Business Standard

See the top news on Matrimony.com

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Sugarbook Founder Pleads Not Guilty to Publishing Post on ‘Sugar Babies’

Posted on February 24, 2021

Sugarbook darren chan1THE STRAITS TIMES – Feb 23 – The founder of Sugarbook has been charged at the Magistrate's Court in Malaysia over the publication of a post "Top 10 Sugar Baby Universities in Malaysia" with intention to cause public fear. The charge carries imprisonment of up to two years or fine or both. On Feb 15, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocked access to Sugarbook for allegedly breaching the law on the use of network facilities or services. However, Sugarbook's developer then set up an alternative site to enable its users to access the blocked webpage.

See full article at The Straits Times

See the top news on Sugarbook

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Grindr Polled 10K Users About Love During the Pandemic

Posted on February 24, 2021

Grindr icon 2020OUT.COM – Feb 23 – Gay men are still hooking up, but there's a greater emphasis on love and safety than in pre-pandemic days, according to Grindr's recent survey. According to Grindr, 64% of the men surveyed said they were trying to find new socially-distant ways to meet up with other gay men. 48 % said they had virtual hookups, and another 31 % revealed they've hooked up while wearing a mask. 58% said they are now more interested in a long-term relationship and 67% said personality is more important than in pre-pandemic times.

by Donald Padgett
See full article at Out.com

See the top news on Grindr

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Intentions – a New Dating App That Is Focused on Purposeful Dating

Posted on February 24, 2021

Intentions iconCAPE TOWN ETC – Feb 23 – Intentions is the brainchild of Ayal Belling. The first version of the app, named Predict, was launched in 2016 and after early market interest he joined forces with partner Maritza van den Heuvel and they reimagined the app as Intentions – the dating app that promises more good dates, sooner. The app focuses more on written content and compatibility than images. Users are asked twenty 'yes/no' questions to help understand their personality and values, and are then matched with the profiles of compatible users.

by Kirsten Jacobs
See full article at Cape Town Etc

See the top news on Intentions (previously Predict)

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WooPlus Dating App Launches Zaftigx, a Lifestyle Fashion App

Posted on February 24, 2021

Zaftigx iconPR.COM – Feb 23 – WooPlus, a dating app for curvy people, is launching the new lifestyle fashion app Zaftigx for curvy women, where they can explore trends, enjoy deals, and cash back.

See full article at PR.com

See the top news on WooPlus

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OkCupid Predicts August 1 as the Hottest Dating Day of the Year in UK

Posted on February 24, 2021

Okcupid logo 2018MASHABLE – Feb 23 – According to OkCupid, Aug. 1 will be "the hottest day for dating in 2021," after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to offer all UK adults the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 31. Vaccines are a hot topic among online daters at the moment, according to OkCupid data. The dating app reports a 137% increase in the mentions of 'vaccine' on OkCupid profiles between November 2020 and January 2021. 42% of OkCupid respondents said they'd cancel a date with someone who didn't want to take the vaccine.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on OkCupid

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App Spending to Reach $270B by 2025

Posted on February 23, 2021

Global app spendingTECH CRUNCH – Feb 23 – The app spending will reach $270B by 2025, including paid downloads, in-app purchases and subscriptions, according to Sensor Tower. In-app spending will return to pre-pandemic levels of stable growth over the next few years, downloads will continue to grow and app store spending in non-game apps will overtake mobile game spending by 2024. By 2024, Sensor Tower expects non-game spending to reach $86B compared with $73B in game spending. And by 2025, that gap will widen, with non-games reaching $107B while mobile games reach $78B. Last year, global consumer spending in the top 100 subscription apps was up by 34% YOY.

by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch

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