Category: Blued
Blued Launches Blued Queer Flicks
THE SIASAT DAILY – May 15 – Blued, a gay dating app, has launched their first ever queer film making contest called Blued Queer Flicks. The contest will be followed by a screening scheduled to be taken place on June 8, 2019, in Delhi. ~60 entries have been received since the contest was launched in April. Out of the total received entries, there are 10 selected contestants whose short movies will be shown at the fest and the winners will be awarded the cash prizes and awards. The movies are based on queer themes, struggles, love, fun, education and social perception.
A Chinese Dating App for Gay Men Is Helping Them Have Kids, Too
BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK – Mar 21 – The urge to have a child hit Blued's founder Geng Le hard after age 35. Surrogacy is illegal in China. Another option was Thailand, but by 2015 that country had banned foreign surrogacy. Geng decided on California, which offered the best legal protections for "intended parents" such as himself, excellent advanced medical care for the surrogate and the newborn, and a U.S. passport for the baby. The surrogacy process was a long drumbeat of tests, contract signings, and administrative details. When the due date came around, Geng flew to LA for the birth and held his son for the first time. He returned home with his son, Xiao Shu, in March 2017. He also brought back a new idea for Blued: an overseas surrogacy service for gay men – Bluedbaby. Bluedbaby shepherds clients through such choices, connecting them with steps such as choosing an egg donor, finding a surrogate, signing contracts, and navigating American culture.
by Dune Lawrence & David Ramli
See full article at Bloomberg Businessweek
VCs Aren’t Falling in Love With Dating Startups
CRUNCHBASE – Feb 14 – In 2018, venture investors put $127M globally into 27 dating-focused startups. It's certainly tiny compared to the ~$300B in global venture investment across all sectors last year. While the US is home to the majority of funded startups in the dating category, the bulk of investment has gone to China. In 2018, ~80% of dating-related investment went to a single company – Blued, a Grindr-style hookup app for gay men. In 2017, the bulk of capital went to Chinese mobile dating app Tantan, and in 2014, Beijing-based matchmaking site Baihe raised ~$250M. Meanwhile, in the U.S, we are seeing an assortment of startups raising smaller rounds.
by Joanna Glasner
See full article at Crunchbase
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Blued, Chinese Gay Dating App, Halts Registration After Underage HIV Report
REUTERS – Jan 5 – Chinese gay dating app Blued is halting new user registration for a week, following media reports that underage users caught HIV after going on dates set up via the app. In response, Blued vowed to launch a "comprehensive content audit and regulation," and crack down on underage users posing as adults. Blued, which was launched in 2010 and now boasts 40M registered users, is backed by state-run media Beijing News.
Gay Dating App, Blued Launches #whatsnext377 Campaign
BUSINESS-STANDARD – Nov 20 – Blued, the largest gay dating app globally, has launched #whatsnext377 campaign in India, aiming to strengthen and spread awareness about the LGBTQI community and its rights. According to the Section 377, the Supreme Court judgment ruled that 'consensual adult gay sex is not crime, saying sexual orientation is natural and people have no control over it'.
Grindr IPO Plans Shine Light On China LGBT Acceptance
BUSINESS TIMES – Sep 7 – Grindr is planning an IPO overseas. Grindr owner, Beijing Kunlun Technology, did not publicize where or when the IPO will take place. The LGBT community continues to thrive in China. Rela is one of the most popular social networking platforms that cater to the LGBT community in China. During its peak, the platform had ~5M registered users. Blued, the country's second-largest social network for the LGBT community claims to have 27M registered users. Based on the latest data, the Chinese LGBT population currently stands between 70M to 90M. The Chinese LGBT community has an annual purchasing power that stands at a massive $938B in 2017 alone.
by Vera Dee
See full article at Business Times
Gay Dating App Thrives In China
CBC.CA – July 5 – Based in Beijing, Blued is the most popular gay dating app in the world. Blued operates mostly in China and Southeast Asia, but has plans to expand to Mexico and Brazil and eventually to North America and Europe. It's also moving beyond dating to offer adoption services to gay couples and free HIV testing clinics in China. Beijing's approach to homosexuality has been ambiguous and sometimes contradictory. "The government has its 'Three No's,'" said Xiaogang Wei, the executive director of the LGBT group Beijing Gender. "Don't support homosexuality, don't oppose and don't promote." In 2016, Beijing banned depictions of gay people on TV and the internet in a sweeping crackdown on "vulgar, immoral and unhealthy content." Regulations said any reference to homosexuality promotes the "dark side of society," lumping gay content in with sexual violence and incest. Yet in April, when Chinese microblogging site Sina Weibo decided to impose its own, apparently unofficial ban on gay content – erasing 50k posts in one day – Beijing seemed to mirror the disapproval of internet users.
Furor Erupts In China As Sina Weibo Bans Gay Content
NEW YORK TIMES – Apr 15 – With hashtags like #Iamgaynotapervert and images of hearts and rainbows, tens of thousands of Chinese residents took to social media over the weekend to protest efforts to censor gay-themed images, videos and cartoons. Sina Weibo, a Twitterlike site, said that it was trying to limit the spread of sexually suggestive and violent content and that it would target cartoons, pictures, texts, short videos and romantic fiction. The site said its aim was to promote a "clear and harmonious" environment. Many activists saying that its attempts to limit free speech had gone too far and that gay people were being punished because their culture was considered out of the mainstream. Ma Baoli, the founder of Blued, a gay dating app, said the country's lack of sexual education had exacerbated a culture of intolerance.
Gay Dating App Blued Raised $100M
DEALSTREET ASIA – Feb 5 – Blued secures $100m in Series D funding round. The latest round was led by CDH Investments and UG Capital Investment, marking the seventh round of financing. Launched in 2012, Blued has become one of the world's most popular free gay social apps, attracting ~15M users worldwide. Blued CEO Geng Le said the company will make further efforts to optimize and upgrade products and services.
by Mars Woo
See full article at Dealstreet Asia
This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.