BLOOMBERG LAW – A pension fund sued Bumble over concerns that the company and its backers at Blackstone engineered a stock offering in Sep 2021 based on stale growth metrics just weeks before they released data showing a decline in users.
Month: September 2022
Dating Apps Thrive in China
NEW YORK TIMES – China has cracked down on many tech companies, but has allowed dating apps that provide social connections to flourish. The number of dating apps in China with over 1K downloads soared to 275 this year from 81 in 2017, according to data.ai. Downloads of the apps have increased, as have in-app purchases. Investors have also poured ~$5.3B into dating and social networking companies in the country last year, up from $300M in 2019, according to PitchBook. Zhang Lu, the founder of Soul, a dating app backed by Tencent, has said that "loneliness is the core problem we want to solve." In July, Soul filed for an IPO in Hong Kong after tripling its monthly active users to 31M between 2019 and 2021.
by Chang Che and Zixu Wang
See full article at New York Times
SwoonMe – Avatars and Audio Replace Traditional Profiles
INDIAN EXPRESS – SwoonMe, a dating app that started in July 2021, is focusing on avatars and audio. Tanvi Gupta, SwoonMe's co-founder and former Meta employee, said the aim is to build "a platform where users can connect, with 'Avatars' being their primary medium of identity." Once the profile is created, the app will guide a user with prompts on how to record an audio introduction. This audio snippet or description is another critical part of the profile on SwoonMe app. Two users must have sent a certain number of 'audio' messages before the text chat option opens. Launched in India in January this year, the app already has 25K monthly active users.
MillionaireMatch Launches Mandatory Free Verification Checks
BUSINESSWIRE – MillionaireMatch has launched free mandatory verification of its users using government ID. It could be a Driver's License, passport, or any other form of valid ID. The site also offers Live Video Verification. Users are verified through a series of real-time posed selfies to check whether the person in a live video selfie is the same as the person in the profile. A checkmark will appear on the verified profile.
Dating.com Opens Meta-Dating Space
THE DRUM – Dating.com is opening a meta-dating space in Decentraland, a blockchain-based virtual world that's become a popular portal into the expanding metaverse. Match Group announced last year that it was planning to launch 'Single Town' for Tinder, describing it as "a live virtual world." Those plans were recently paused in the wake of low earnings during the second quarter of this year. The VR-based dating app Planet Theta is slated to launch in November.
Dating App Clover Inks $157M SPAC Merger
LAW360 – FoxWayne has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with dating app Clover for $157.45M in share consideration. Clover is a dating app aimed at Gen Z and millennials with live streaming and other social features. FoxWayne brings ~$13.7M in cash into the deal.
by Danielle Ferguson
See full article at Law360
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com
Whatever Happened To Cat Dating App Tabby After Shark Tank?
LOOPER – Leigh D'Angelo, the founder of the dating app for cat lovers Tabby, had previously developed the dating app Dig, which catered to dog lovers. Tabby was launched on International Cat Day on Aug 8, 2020, and saw ~10K downloads. She presented her idea to the investors on Shark Tank. Kevin O'Leary decided to take a chance on the cat lovers and offered $300K for 30%, but Tabby wasn't able to land on its feet. While the app is available on Google Play, it is not available on the App Store anymore. Similarly, the company's website is no longer functioning. In its final Instagram post, Dig wrote, "It has been a roller coaster ride for the past 6 years, and we can not thank each of you enough for believing in our dream. It is with great sadness and a lot of tears that we will be closing our business."
Bumble Now Lets Users Add 30s Audio Prompt to Dating Profiles
Tinder Celebrates National Dog Week
More Singles Turn to Dating Apps, But Inflation Puts Dent in Plans
by Charles Epstein
See full article at Newsweek
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