BUSINESS INSIDER – Grindr plans to build four new direct-to-consumer businesses by 2028, each targeting $15–30M in revenue (up to $120M total), according to an internal roadmap. After launching ED-meds brand Woodwork in 2025, the company aims to expand into areas like wellness and personal care, while scaling AI across the app beyond existing features. CEO George Arison says these ventures will start small with lean teams, marking a rare move for a dating app to diversify beyond subscriptions.
BUSINESS INSIDER – Dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr are investing tens of millions of dollars in AI-powered matchmaking to counter swipe fatigue, declining engagement, and falling paid-user numbers. Match Group’s stock is down ~75% over five years and its paying users fell 5% YOY, while Bumble’s share price is down ~50% this year, it laid off 30% of staff, and paying users dropped 18%. The companies are deploying generative AI for matchmaking, profile creation, flirting, and safety, with Tinder testing its Chemistry feature and Grindr launching AI-driven recommendation feeds. Analysts say AI alone cannot revive unpopular products. At the same time, AI-first startups are raising capital and entering the market, including Sitch, which has raised $9M and charges $90 for three matches, alongside new apps such as Known, Ditto, and Amata, while Facebook has introduced an AI dating assistant.
REUTERS – Austrian privacy group NOYB has filed complaints against TikTok, Grindr, and AppsFlyer, alleging they violated EU GDPR rules by tracking users across apps and sharing sensitive data without consent. NOYB says a user discovered, through a data-access request, that TikTok had accessed information about their Grindr activity, along with data from other apps, via AppsFlyer. The group claims TikTok used this information for personalized ads, analytics, and security, and that neither Grindr nor AppsFlyer had legal grounds to transfer such data. NOYB is urging regulators to issue fines and halt the practices.
GRINDR Grindr supports the U.S. App Store Accountability Act because it would create one unified age-verification system in app stores. They say this would better prevent minors from accessing 18+ apps and avoid making adults submit personal data to multiple apps separately.
FORBES – Grindr’s shares rose after majority owner Raymond Zage withdrew his bid to take the company private and instead pledged to buy more shares on the open market. Zage and partner James Lu, who own ~64% of Grindr, dropped their $3.5B bid after the company’s special committee stopped talks due to uncertainty over financing. Grindr stock has gained over the past two days, recovering part of the drop that followed the halted buyout discussions. Zage, who has already bought ~$200M in shares since 2022, is pushing for higher shareholder returns through buybacks and possibly dividends. Grindr continues to grow, reporting 15M monthly users, 1.3M paying subscribers, rising profits, and strong EBITDA guidance.
See full article at Forbes
REUTERS – Grindr has ended talks on a $3.46B take-private offer from its major shareholders Ray Zage and James Lu after they failed to provide clear financing details. The stock fell ~12% after the announcement. Grindr says the breakdown of talks does not change its strategy and that it is still projecting ~26% revenue growth for the year. The company continues to outperform Match Group and Bumble despite weaker sentiment in the dating-app sector. Zage and Lu, who bought Grindr in 2020 and took it public in 2022, hold ~60% of the shares.
See full article at Reuters
METRO.CO.UK – Grindr launched “I Wool Survive,” a fashion line made from the wool of gay rams rescued by Germany’s Rainbow Wool farm. Designed by Michael Schmidt, the collection debuted in New York to support global LGBTQ+ causes, turning rescued rams’ wool into a symbol of queer pride and inclusion.
See full article at Metro.co.uk
GRINDR – Grindr delivered a record Q3 2025, with revenue up 30% YOY to $116M, net income rising to $31M, and Adjusted EBITDA reaching $55M. The company reaffirmed its full-year 2025 outlook of 26%+ revenue growth and expects Adjusted EBITDA of $191–$193M. Monthly active users grew 4% to 15.1M, paying users increased 17% to 1.3M, and ARPPU rose 7% to $24.70. Grindr repurchased 25.1M shares for $450M, launched AI-driven product enhancements, and began testing a new premium tier powered by its proprietary gAI platform, positioning the company for continued growth into 2026.
NBC MIAMI – A U.S. federal judge ruled that a wrongful-death lawsuit against Grindr over the murder of 16-year-old Miranda Corsette must go to arbitration rather than trial. Corsette was killed in Feb 2025 after meeting a man on the app, which explicitly bars minors. Despite this, Judge Tom Barber found that by creating a Grindr account, Corsette had agreed to the platform’s terms and conditions, including mandatory arbitration, three separate times. The victim’s estate argued that no valid contract could exist because she was underage and ineligible to use the service, but the court rejected that reasoning. Critics have called the decision disturbing, as it effectively holds a minor to fine-print terms on an app that legally should have excluded her in the first place.
See full article at NBC Miami
NEW YORK TIMES – Artificial intelligence is reshaping online dating. Startups like Known and major platforms such as Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, and Grindr are replacing endless swiping with A.I. tools that offer curated matches and coaching. Users can pay per match or date instead of monthly subscriptions. Match Group’s new A.I. algorithms have increased matches on Hinge by 15%, while Tinder is testing “Chemistry,” an A.I. feature that analyzes photos to improve matching. Bumble and Grindr are developing similar tools. The shift comes as user satisfaction and paid subscriptions decline, prompting dating apps to bet on A.I. as the next phase of online matchmaking.
See full article at New York Times