Dating industry digest: Tinder Stumbles While Hinge Soars 25% — How AI Matchmakers Charge $160 Per Introduction
Grindr’s CFO Takes a Hike (But the Money Stays) After three years of shepherding Grindr through its IPO like a financial fairy godmother, CFO Vanna Krantz is bidding farewell. Don’t panic though – the company’s still projecting a delicious 26% revenue growth for 2025. Q2 numbers? A tasty $104M (+27% YoY) with $17M net profit. That’s what we call “profitable dating.”
Bumble Gets a New Money Manager Kevin D. Cook (ex-Cloudera CFO) steps in as Bumble’s new financial wizard starting August 12. Meanwhile, Bumble’s doubling down on friendship with their revamped “Bumble For Friends” (BFF) feature. Because apparently, finding someone to split pizza with is the new romantic goal. Q2 revenue took a 7.6% dip to $248.2M, but hey – at least you’ll have friends to cry about it with.
The League’s Queen Bee Flies Free Amanda Bradford, the mastermind behind The League’s “dating app for the 1%,” has officially left Match Group after her non-compete expired. In 10 years, she transformed 419 users into 300K active members generating $15M annually. Her Twitter bio now reads “free agent” – because even dating app founders need to signal they’re back on the market.
India’s Most Exclusive Dating Software Gets Classist Knot.dating introduces its “matrimonial app for the top 1%” with a charming requirement: men must earn at least ₹50 lakhs (~$60K) annually. Women? No income requirement needed! CEO Jaswin Singh insists most female users earn ₹3M+ with Ivy League/IIT/IIM degrees. Nothing says “modern romance” like a good old-fashioned financial screening.
The Future is Here, and It’s Slightly Creepy By 2025, 350 million people will use AI for partner matching. Services like Keeper and Soulmate analyze personality, moods, and preferences with algorithm precision. Of course, experts are raising eyebrows about privacy and algorithmic bias – because nothing says “authentic connection” like having your romantic destiny decided by the same technology that shows you cat videos.
Source: https://www.webpronews.com/ai-revolutionizes-online-dating-deeper-matches-and-ethical-concerns/
Sitch: Where AI Becomes Your Wing-Bot Former Bumble India exec Nandini Mullaji launched a platform where AI interviews users and matches based on “deep value analysis.” Pricing: $90 for 3 setups, $160 for 8. Finally, a dating script that costs more than dinner but might actually work better than your last Tinder conversation.
PickleMatch: Love Served with a Side of Sport Colorado launches its latest dating innovation – PickleMatch, where finding love means knowing your backhand from your forehand. Co-founder Annelise Nembauer created it after regular dating apps left her feeling like she was playing singles when she wanted doubles. Beta testing gathered 100+ subscribers who presumably know the difference between a lob and a drop shot.
Source: https://www.westword.com/arts/new-dating-app-for-pickleball-lovers-launches-in-colorado-25135326
Tinder Serves Up Pickleball Partnership With “pickleball” mentions up 300% in profiles, Tinder partnered with The Dink for offline mixers in 4 US cities. Special “Singles Courts” included because apparently, love means never having to say “nice shot” to someone else’s partner.
Source: https://www.thedinkpickleball.com/tinder-teams-up-with-courted-pickleball-is-the-new-dating-app/
Frolly: Where Dog Lovers Find Their Pack Charlotte-based Cindy Himmel launches her dog lovers’ dating app in September. Free for 6 months, then $12/month with proceeds going to animal rescues. Finally, a platform where “must love dogs” isn’t just wishful thinking.
Hinge Saves the Day (Again) Hinge’s 25% Q2 revenue growth continues propping up Match Group’s portfolio while Tinder figures out how to appeal to Gen Z beyond offering them participation trophies. Total revenue hit $864M, beating analyst expectations of $854M. CEO Spencer Rascoff’s strategy: position Hinge for serious relationships and Tinder as a “low-pressure Gen Z experience” (aka glorified entertainment).
Lawsuits: The Gift That Keeps Giving Shareholders sued Match Group executives for allegedly hiding safety issues, including banned users easily hopping between apps like a toxic relationship tour. An 18-month investigation revealed their problematic user control system worked about as well as a screen door on a submarine.
Brooklyn Women Turn Hinge into TaskRabbit 24-year-old Storm Halestrap went viral for having matches build furniture on first dates. “Guys need a mission, they’re like golden retrievers,” she explains. This dating website innovation suggests Gen Z has discovered that free labor beats small talk. Who needs compatibility when you need that IKEA shelf assembled?
Peared: Reality Check for Dating Apps Washington D.C. couple launches “moment-based sharing” instead of posed photos – real life snippets from daily activities. Because apparently, someone’s actual Tuesday afternoon is more attractive than their carefully curated weekend hiking shot.
Source: https://wjla.com/good-morning-washington/the-peared-app-is-bringing-reality-back-to-online-dating
Lily James Swipes Right on Bumble Founder Role 20th Century Studios and Hulu drop “Swiped” on September 19 – the Whitney Wolfe Herd biopic covering Tinder’s creation, harassment lawsuit departure, and Bumble’s rise as the “feminist dating app.” Finally, a rom-com where the real love story is building a billion-dollar dating platform.
Source: https://variety.com/2025/film/news/swiped-trailer-lily-james-bumble-ceo-dating-app-1236486694/
“Tinder for Cows” Moos into New Zealand Perfect Cow Breeding Solutions lets farmers swipe through bull and cow profiles for genetic matching. Because even livestock deserves a better dating site builder than what most humans get. At least cows don’t ghost each other.
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