CAPITAL.COM – A merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Tiga Acquisition was announced back in May and it valued Grindr at $2.1B. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year. Grindr will trade under the name Gindr Inc. and will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. It is expected the stock will initially be priced at $10. As of Dec 2021, Grindr has 10.8M active subscribers and of this, 723K are paying users, up ~30% compared to 2020. For 2022, the app has forecast a rise in revenue growth between 35-40% and the company reported revenue of $147M, an increase of 30% from 2020. Match Group's share has fallen 67% this year. Bumble has also seen a drop in share price of 68% since going public in Feb 2021.
Category: Grindr
Grindr Faces Boycott After Gay CEO’s Right-Wing Tweets Are Revealed
ADVOCATE – The tag #DeleteGrindr is trending after new incoming CEO George Arison previously tweeted he was a conservative who supported some of the positions of then-President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin. Arrison, who is openly gay, starts his new job on October 19. Arison came to Grindr from e-commerce marketplace Shift Technologies where he was CEO and co-founder. "George is an out gay man, proudly married to his husband and the father of two children," Grindr said. "George is passionate about fighting for the rights and freedoms of LGBTQ people around the world."
Bumble Surpasses 100M in Lifetime Downloads and Grindr $500M in Consumer Spend
PR NEWSWIRE – Bumble and Grindr hit significant milestones this week, according to data.ai (formerly App Annie). Bumble has surpassed 100M lifetime downloads and Grindr has surpassed $500M in consumer spend. Bumble has taken just under eight years to reach this milestone and ranks #4 in lifetime downloads in the U.S..Over the last five years, dating app global downloads have increased 173%, from 293M in H1 2017 to 799M in H1 2022.
Grindr Names George Arison CEO as It Prepares for Public Debut
BLOOMBERG – Grindr has named George Arison its new CEO, fulfilling a pledge to appoint someone who identifies with that group to lead the company as it prepares to go public. Arison, 44, is the co-founder and former CEO of auto e-commerce marketplace Shift Technologies. He will start at Grindr on Oct 19. Grindr also named Vanna Krantz as its new CFO. Krantz is the current CFO of transportation and payments company Passport Labs, and she previously served in that role at Disney Streaming Services. The appointments are part of a previously announced transition that will see current CEO Jeff Bonforte and CFO Gary Hsueh step down and move into advisory roles with the company.
Which Dating Apps Collect and Share the Most Data From Their Users
Tinder Turns 10: What Have We Learned From a Decade of Dating Apps?
THE GUARDIAN – A decade ago, online dating existed through sites such as match and OKCupid tended to attract older users, and had a stigma. Apps like Grindr (launched 2009), and Tinder (2012) radically changed online dating. Emily Witt, the author of Future Sex, a book that examines sex in the internet age, tells Nosheen Iqbal about the origin story of Tinder, meeting the founders, and why it was such an instant success. Dating apps have grown in response to a culture where people are single longer and a changing sexual morality that's open to different kinds of relationships.
by Nosheen Iqbal
See full article at The Guardian
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How Dating Apps Could Help Stop the Spread of STD
- Remind users to get regular testing for STIs and link them to local resources.
- Provide an option to send anonymous notifications of positive STI test results to partners on the platform.
- Confidentially and digitally transmit exposure and testing data to public health departments.
by Céline Gounder & Michael Donnelly
See full article at STAT
Grindr Partners With Spectrum Labs on AI moderation
AXIOS – Grindr is partnering with Spectrum Labs to implement an AI system for content moderation. Spectrum's contextual AI service works to solve specific issues, such as identifying the sale of drugs and sex as well as trying to detect underage users. Spectrum has a set of algorithms it has tuned over the years.
The Teens Slipping Through the Cracks on Dating Apps
THE ATLANTIC – Most dating apps mandate that users be at least 18 to join. When signing up, users must provide their birthday or link a social-media profile that includes their date of birth. But they are not required to provide any proof of their age. A representative for Bumble shared that the company uses "automated and live verification procedures" to block users under 18 and prevent them from rejoining. Match Group said that the company uses "technology including AI" to search for suspicious language "that indicates a user may be underage". The GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting found that from 2015 to 2021, ~100 men were charged in the US with crimes related to sexually assaulting minors or attempting to engage in a sexual act with a minor through Grindr. Governments have started to take notice of reports like these.
by Moises Mendez II
See full article at The Atlantic
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Grindr Makes a Statement With Majority-LGBTQ Board
FORTUNE – Grindr plans to go public in a $2.1B SPAC deal. Its board boasts 60% LGBTQ representation and four first-time public directors. The gay dating app's executive rank is a prime example of a 21st century modern board not just in terms of diverse representation but also in the unique medley of professional backgrounds and skills held by directors.