COSMOPOLITAN – Speed dating is experiencing a resurgence, particularly in London, as people seek alternatives to dating apps and more face-to-face interactions. The trend began in New York in the late 1990s but waned in the mid-2000s due to the rise of online dating. However, with app burnout and the desire for real-world connections post-lockdown, speed dating is making a comeback. Eventbrite reported three times as many speed dating events in London in the past year compared to 2021, with a 200% increase in attendees.The appeal of speed dating lies in its efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and the opportunity to build connections in a low-risk, high-reward environment.
Month: May 2023
Matchmaking Gets a Modern Upgrade With Tawkify’s Acquisition of S’More
PAPERMAG – Adam Cohen Aslatei, the founder and CEO of the "anti-superficial" dating app, S'More, believes the future of dating lays in the hands of matchmakers. After working and advising for various dating companies like The Meet Group, Raya, Zoosk, Bumble, Perry Street and more, Aslatei concludes that "dating apps are just not designed to work for you." Kellie Ammerman, the CEO of the matchmaking company Tawkify, is equally dubious of the gamification of these dating apps. She explains that the "addiction-driven design prioritizes quantity over quality. Tawkify recently acquired S'More. Ammerman is pushing beyond the company's foundation of matchmaking to expand into a more holistic suite of relationship wellness, coaching and post match services. Tawkify has over 1M singles in its network and a track record of ~200K successful matches.
Google’s Efforts to Ensure Safety in The App Ecosystem
GOOGLE BLOG – Keeping Google Play safe for users and developers remains a top priority for Google. In 2022, Google prevented 1.43M policy-violating apps from being published on Google Play. They also continued to combat malicious developers and fraud rings, banning 173K bad accounts, and preventing ~$2B in fraudulent and abusive transactions.
by Anu Yamunan, Khawaja Shams & Mohet Saxena
See full article at Google Blog
ProSiebenSat.1 Met 2022 Expectations and Expects Slight Revenue Growth in 2023
OPW – ProSiebenSat.1 reported that its financial year 2022 was in line with expectations, generating revenues of EUR 4.2B (compared to the previous year's EUR 4.5B), with adjusted EBITDA of EUR 678M (compared to the previous year's EUR 841M) and adjusted net income of EUR 301M (compared to the previous year's EUR 365M). In the Dating & Video segment, external revenues amounted to EUR 518M in 2022, representing a decrease of EUR 24M or 4% (previous year: EUR 542M). eharmony continued its growth course throughout the year and is now the highest-revenue brand in the dating portfolio.
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Russia’s VK Developing Homegrown Tinder Alternative
THE MOSCOW TIMES – Russian tech giant VK is developing its own dating service that could launch this summer following Tinder's planned exit from Russia. Match Group announced this month that it plans to exit Russia by June 30, citing its commitment to "protecting human rights" amid Russia's war in Ukraine. Tinder's competitor Bumble announced its Russia exit in March 2022, days after Russian forces invaded Ukraine. VK Znakomstva's user base has seen a year-on-year surge of 81% to 22.1M unique users. VK CEO Vladimir Kiriyenko is the son of the deputy head of President Vladimir Putin's administration, Sergei Kiriyenko.
Bumble Announces First Quarter 2023 Results
BUSINESSWIRE – Bumble's Q1 revenue increased 16% to $243M. This includes an unfavorable impact of $7.2M from foreign currency movements year over year. Bumble app revenue grew 26% to $194.3M. Badoo app and other revenue declined 12.6% to $48.7M. Total Paying Users increased to 3.5M YOY, compared to 3M in Q1 '22. Net loss was $2.3M, compared to net earnings of $23.7M last year's Q1. Adjusted EBITDA was $59.3M.
Daniel Salmon – Current Worldwide Trends in Online Dating
LTR – The US Internet research team is headed by Daniel Salmon, who started working at New Street Research in 2022 after spending 18 years as the leader of the US Internet & Media research team at BMO Capital Markets. Dan graduated from Princeton University and currently resides in New York City. Investors and industry experts value his perspectives, and he frequently speaks at industry events and conferences. His quotes have been featured in major media outlets such as The Wall Street Journal.
Dan presented his research and analysis of the dating industry. He begins by acknowledging the negative sentiment surrounding public dating stocks and the concerns over the saturation and maturing of the sector. He presents a chart showing the historical valuation of dating companies on a profitability metric called Earning Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization (EBITDA) and notes that there has been a significant pullback in enthusiasm for the industry in recent years. Despite this, he believes that the dating industry still has growth potential and the larger players have advantages, such as the potential to acquire smaller businesses.
The April LTR was kindly sponsored by technology providers Livebox by The Meet Group, Courtland Brooks and Matchmaker.com
Dispo Team Develops New AI-Powered Dating App, Teaser AI
BUSINESS INSIDER – The team behind photo-sharing app Dispo is building a new dating app called Teaser AI. The app will incorporate AI into online dating, allowing users to match with people and then chat with an AI version of the match. Prospective matches can chat with the user's AI, and the user can chat with theirs. The app is set to launch later in May and aims to "stop ghosting" with AI technology and ward off catfishing and creeps by verifying profiles. David Dobrik is not involved in the launch and development of Teaser AI. Daniel Liss, cofounder and CEO of Dispo, is listed as the primary contact for the new app.
by Sydney Bradley and Amanda Perelli
See full article at Business Insider
Podcast: Dating App Snack Uses AI Avatars to Flirt for Users
KCRW – Dating app Snack has released a new feature to help people cut through the small talk – by using an AI-generated avatar that has conversations on behalf of its users. Los Angeles Times Reporter Jamie Ding tried it out, and found that bot-on-bot romance still has its limitations.
Match Says It’s ‘Very Possible’ Apple-Epic Ruling Could Result in App Store Fee Relief
TECH CRUNCH – Match Group believes that the recent Apple-Epic Games antitrust appeals ruling may result in fee relief for developers on the App Store. Match Group's President and CFO, Gary Swidler, pointed to various battles Apple has been facing, including the recent antitrust investigation in the U.K. and the E.U.'s Digital Markets Act, which will impact App Store fees. Swidler suggested that Apple would have to decide whether it wanted to rethink its policies on a global basis or continue to set specific rules for each region. Match expects to see some sort of decision related to these questions over the next 12 months.