MASHABLE – 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.
Category: All Gay
China Videogame Developer Buys Grindr
CANADA 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.
Grindr Sells 60% Of Stake To Chinese Company
NYTIMES – 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.
Gay Dating App Grindr Gets $93M Investment From A Chinese Company
LATIMES – 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
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.
PR Consulting Took On Grindr
WWD.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.
Grindr CEO: Grindr Will Become More Of A Lifestyle Brand
GAYSTARNEWS – 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
Mobile Dating Apps Spur HIV Among Asia’s Teenagers
THE 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
Gay Dating App Blued Plans IPO
GAYSTAR NEWS – Nov 12 – The CEO of Blued, the world's biggest gay dating app, says he would like to see his company make a stock market launch in the next five years. Based in China, Blued has 3M daily active users. By comparison, Grindr has 2M daily users. Blued soon expects to close its third fundraising round. The fundraising is expected to raise $50 to $100M.
by David Hudson
See full article at Gaystar News
Gay Dating App Scruff Launches New Feature For Travelers
NYTIMES – Oct 20 – Scruff, a gay dating app, got inspired by Tinder's passport feature. Scruff's users can now taps on Venture, a list of two dozen cities and see profiles of locals, people currently visiting and people who will be visiting the city soon. Users can set up their own trips in advance and make contact with others before they visit.
What It’s Like To Be The King Of Grindr
TECH INSIDER – Oct 13 – Joel Simkhai is a single, gay man living in Los Angeles, and he’s the CEO and founder of Grindr. He started Grindr out of a “selfish desire” to meet more gay men, and he’s still a very regular user of his own app.