Month: October 2025

Grindr’s Majority Owners Move to Take the Company Private After Stock Slide

Posted on October 17, 2025
Grindr

FAST COMPANY – Grindr’s largest shareholders, Raymond Zage and James Lu, are exploring a plan to take the company private again, just four years after it went public through a SPAC merger in 2021. The move follows a recent stock drop that led a lender to seize shares tied to a personal loan. Reports say Zage and Lu are in talks with Fortress Investment Group to finance a buyout at about $15 per share, compared to Grindr’s $12.72 closing price on October 15. The two control over 60% of Grindr’s stock, prompting the board to form an independent committee to review any offer. Grindr’s shares had peaked at $24.73 in June 2025 but have since fallen, partly after a Ningi Research report accused the company of inflating user numbers. Grindr denied comment on both the buyout and the allegations. Despite the volatility, the company’s Q2 revenue rose 27% YOY, and CEO George Arison has announced plans to expand AI-driven features and telehealth services such as Woodwork, its ED medication platform.

See full article at Fast Company

The Rise of Chatfishing: When AI Takes Over Modern Dating

Posted on October 17, 2025
chatfishing

VICE – A woman discovered the man she’d been texting for weeks on Hinge wasn’t the person she thought. His AI had been doing the talking. More daters are now using chatbots to craft messages or even run entire conversations, creating connections that feel perfect online but fall flat in person. The appeal comes from dating fatigue and the pressure to always say the right thing, pushing people to let algorithms handle the hard parts. But as AI smooths every interaction, it risks stripping away the flaws and emotions that make human connection real.

See full article at Vice

Cray App Launches to Help People Spot Red Flags 

Posted on October 17, 2025
Cray app

EINPRESSWIRE – Cray is a new dating safety app launched nationwide by Tampa-based Cray App, LLC. It helps users recognize manipulation, deception, and emotional risks in relationships. Created by founder Justin Smith after a painful breakup, the app analyzes ~70 red flags across 18 categories and generates two private scores: CrayScore™ for overall relationship risk and SchemerScore™ for signs of ulterior motives such as money, sex, or control. Cray combines psychology, humor, and education to make dating safer and more self-aware.

See full article at Fox40

Building Wable: the Dating App Empowering the Neurodivergent Community

Posted on October 15, 2025
Logo of 'Wable'

SPOTIFY – Holly Fowler, founder of Wable, explains how she’s building what she calls the first dating app tailored for the neurodivergent community. Sparked by Love on the Spectrum and her own experiences, she and co-founder Michael Theo aim to reduce stigma and design safer, more inclusive product features. The episode covers the realities of launching in an overlooked market, why investor interest in neurodiversity is rising, and Holly’s roadmap for scale and impact.

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Grindr’s Owners Want to Take It Private

Posted on October 14, 2025
A smartphone displaying the Grindr app logo

SEMAFOR – Grindr’s two main owners, Raymond Zage and James Lu, might buy back the company and make it private again. They’re talking with Fortress Investment Group to borrow money for the deal. They’re considering paying ~$15 per share, which would value Grindr at $3B. Right now, the company is worth $2.4B on the stock market. Even though Grindr’s profits went up 25% last quarter, the stock price has dropped over 20% since September. The deal could attract national-security attention, since Grindr was once owned by a Chinese company and handles sensitive user data.

See full article at Semafor

Indian Matchmaking Startup Knot.dating Becomes Profitable in 6 Month

Posted on October 14, 2025
Logo of Knot.dating

STARTUPRO – Knot.dating says it became operationally profitable six months after launch by focusing on marriage-minded users and using AI chat to match people. The user base skews female – about 70:30 women to men – with ~60% of paying users being women. Men must earn ₹50 lakh+ and everyone is verified; each member gets a relationship manager. The company raised $3.2M.

See full article at Startupro

Dating App Cerca Will Show How Gen Z Dates at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025

Posted on October 13, 2025
Cerca dating app

TECH CRUNCH – Cerca is a new dating app built for Gen Z. It connects people through mutual friends instead of random strangers and limits users to four daily swipes to make choices more deliberate. Likes stay anonymous until both people match, and profiles show mutual connections first to improve safety. The app has around 60,000 users, raised $1.6M in seed funding, and will present its concept at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 in San Francisco.

See full article at Tech Crunch

Travel Compatibility Becomes the New Dealbreaker for Singles Over 50, Ourtime Study Reveals

Posted on October 13, 2025
Ourtime.com

VERGE – Travel has become a major dealbreaker for singles over 50, according to new research from Ourtime, the dating app for over-50s. The study, conducted by 3Gem Research on 1,500 adults who date and travel regularly, found that 68% consider travel compatibility non-negotiable and 20% would cancel a date if travel styles don’t align. For this group, travel is more than a hobby, it’s a key test of compatibility, with 85% saying a trip is the best way to see if a relationship truly works.

See full article at Verge

Study Finds Men Report More Dates Than Women Despite Fewer Matches

Posted on October 9, 2025
couple on a date

NEWSWEEK – A new study found that men report going on 48% more dates than women, even though many men complain about getting few matches on apps. Researchers suggest the gap may be because men and women define “a date” differently. Overall, people are dating less, with half of singles saying they are not investing much effort and over half spending nothing on dating in the past year. Those who did spend averaged just over $400, with men outspending women. Experts say financial pressures, stress, and dating fatigue are major reasons behind the decline.

See full article at Newsweek

Grindr CEO George Arison Pushes AI Matchmaking and Premium Tiers, Expands Into Telemedicine With Woodwork

Posted on October 9, 2025
Grindr CEO George Arison

BENZINGA – Grindr is moving to become an AI-native company, with CEO George Arison outlining plans for new premium tiers supported by AI features. The recently launched A-List tool already uses AI to summarize chats and highlight a user’s top potential matches. Future features will act as intelligent matchmaking assistants, designed to reduce the effort of searching and swiping while offering greater value that justifies higher pricing. Arison said these tools will cater to both users seeking quick connections and those building longer-term networks. Alongside AI, Grindr is expanding into new verticals with Woodwork, a telemedicine platform with future plans in health, travel, and lifestyle.

See full article at Benzinga