Category: All Gay

New Dating Apps That Want To Take On Tinder

Posted on February 15, 2016

Dateplay screenshotsBBC.COM – Feb 14 – Combining match-making with games and quizzes, DatePlay is designed to generate meaningful matches. Behind the app is entrepreneur Vana Koutsomitis, who first pitched her idea on the BBC television series The Apprentice. She did not win Lord Sugar's investment – he judged the project too risky – but she has continued work on her app. Hanky is another new dating app. It lets existing members decide whether new joiners should be allowed in. The app, for men only, launched in January and has since attracted 85K members.

by Chris Foxx
See full article at BBC

You can listen to Vana Koutsomitis interview on TechCrunch.

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Dating/Friendship App ‘Bro’ Transcends Stereotypes

Posted on January 26, 2016

Bro app screenshotTHE FRISKY – Jan 25 – The app is catered to men who may in many ways identify as straight, or feel they don't fit into many of the molds of the gay community, but are seeking male intimacy. 'Bro' a safe space for men who feel that differing parts of their identity neither fit into binaries of gay or straight culture, and allows them to explore friendships and possibly sex without need for clear definitions.

by Bronwyn Isaac
See full article at The Frisky

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Grindr’s Sale To Chinese To Signal A Boon For Gay Dating Apps?

Posted on January 20, 2016

Grindr iphoneSBS – Jan 20 – Despite homosexuality only being decriminalised as recently as 1997 and the scene still largely underground due to social stigma, Grindr is actually not even the most popular gay dating app in China. Blued claims more than three million daily users and is expected to soon become a publicly-listed company. Grindr claims to have a presence in 196 countries around the world and is used in countries where homosexuality is illegal or considered taboo. In the second half of the 2014-15 financial year, Grindr said its users in India grew by nearly 50% from the same period the year prior.

by Genevieve Dwyer
See full article at SBS

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

LGBTQI Youth Find Love Through Tumblr

Posted on January 19, 2016

Tumblr logoMASHABLE – Jan 18 – The social platform has become, in many ways, an informal dating site for queer and trans youth. While adults have access to Tinder and OkCupid, LGBTQI youth are left in the digital dark. Facebook requires people to use their real identities. Twitter relies on 140-character soundbites. Tumblr – more visual than Twitter, more private than Facebook, less horrible than Reddit – lets youth create new screennames, craft new identities.

by Heather Dockray
See full article at Mashable

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

China Videogame Developer Buys Grindr

Posted on January 14, 2016

Kunlun ceoCANADA JOURNAL – Jan 13 – Beijing Kunlun Tech, which is run by billionaire Zhou Yahui, paid $93M for a 60% controlling stake in the company – a significant sum for what is Grindr's first outside investment. Zhou Yahui, is a relatively unknown name in the tech scene but has made a $2.8B fortune through free-to-play online videogames and an extremely successful IPO on Shenzhen's ChiNext stock exchange.

See full article at Canada Journal

See all posts on Grindr

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Grindr Sells 60% Of Stake To Chinese Company

Posted on January 13, 2016

Grindr screenshotNYTIMES – Jan 11 – Beijing Kunlun will acquire 60% of Grindr, with the remainder to be owned by Grindr employees and Joel Simkhai, the company's founder. Grindr sees 2M regular visitors every day, who spend ~54 minutes using the app. Grindr's revenue was ~$32M in 2014, up 29% from $25M in 2013.

by Mike Isaac
See full article at NYTimes

See all posts on Grindr

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Gay Dating App Grindr Gets $93M Investment From A Chinese Company

Posted on January 12, 2016

Grindr logo new dec 13LATIMES – Jan 12 – Gay dating app Grindr has handed majority ownership to Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun World Wide Technology for $93M valuing Grindr at $248M post-investment. Grindr had been exploring a sale or fundraising round for much of last year.

by Paresh Dave
See full article at LATimes

See all posts on Grindr

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

PR Consulting Took On Grindr

Posted on December 3, 2015

Grindr tweetsWWD.COM – Dec 2 – PR Consulting, a PR company that specializes in brand imaging and public relations development for the fashion, beauty, and lifestyle industries, will be representing Grindr. The relationship could appear off-brand, but according to PR Consulting's cofounders, Grindr offers an opportunity for fashion brands to reach a vast number of people.

by Aria Hughes
See full article a WWD.com

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Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Grindr CEO: Grindr Will Become More Of A Lifestyle Brand

Posted on December 2, 2015

Grindr app newGAYSTARNEWS – Dec 1 – Grindr founder, Joel Simkhai, has suggested that the app is set to morphs into a LGBT-focused lifestyle brand. Grindr was founded in 2009 with $5K of self-funding. The company now has 2M DAU. 25% of its revenue comes from ads. The rest comes from premium subscribers. To be another LGBT lifestyle brand, Grindr may gain increased sales from corporate advertisers, but it could also risk losing the brand essence that attracted such a large audience in the first place – guys connecting to meet for sex.

by David Hudson
See full article at GayStarNews

See all posts on Grindr

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team

Mobile Dating Apps Spur HIV Among Asia’s Teenagers

Posted on November 30, 2015

4963THE GUARDIAN – Nov 30 – United Nations research has found the growing use of mobile dating apps by young gay men is a major factor in a new HIV epidemic among teenagers in Asia. While global HIV infections are falling, the number of adolescents aged 10-19 officially living with HIV in Asia has grown to ~220K. Grindr runs in-app announcements encouraging testing at local clinics. Online Buddies, the parent company of the gay dating app Jack'd, set up a research institute focusing on gay sexual health.

by Oliver Holmes
See full article at The Guardian

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See all posts on Online Buddies

Summarized by the Courtland Brooks team