Dating App Once Acquired by Dating Group for $18 Million

Dating app Once, which dubs itself the “slow” dating app, has been sold to conglomerate Dating Group for $18 million in cash and stock, according to Tech Crunch.

Dating Group owns Dating.com, Dil Mil, AnastasiaDate and ChinaLove among other online dating platforms, competing directly with Bumble and Match Group’s suite of apps as well as Facebook Dating. It currently has offices in seven countries, and around 73 million users across its portfolio. Once comes with about 9 million users.

Once positioned itself as a more purpose-driven dating app, offering only one match per day to its users, who then have 24 hours to message that match to show interest, or they disappear. This offering was an intentional tactic to compete with the frenetic pace of apps like Tinder where people are inclined to swipe through dozens of profiles each minute rather than spending time really looking at each one. On the other hand, Once forced its users to consider one match at a time.

Once also incorporates AI into its matching process, asking users to rate each profile so it can better understand what they are looking for and give more curated matches over time, according to Tech Crunch.

This strategy might have positioned Once as an enticing acquisition this year, as more people flocked to dating apps and chose to virtual date, taking their time to get to know someone before committing to actually meeting in person. Dating app users are now looking for more serious connections as the pandemic has disrupted their lives.

In fact, Bumble said that two in five users it surveyed are taking longer to get to know someone now, and 38% admitted that the lockdowns made them yearn for something more serious.

Clementine Lalande, co-founder and CEO of Once will continue to lead the company for another two years. She said in the company’s press release: “I am thrilled to join the Dating Group today, both because of their proven focus on post-swiping dating alternatives, and to leverage the huge synergies between Once and Dating Group.”

It looks like Dating Group will be looking to expand its international user base, specifically in Western Europe. Bill Alena, chief investment officer at Dating Group said in a statement: “We strongly believe in the concept of AI and making quality matches. We see a huge potential in integrating Once into our portfolio. We’re excited to have Clementine join Dating Group, she and her team have built a fascinating product and with this acquisition, Dating Group expands deeper into the Western European market.”