Dating Group Acquisitions Make it a Leading Player in Market

Dating Group has made several high-profile acquisitions in the past year, thanks to a new round of seed funding and rising user numbers. The moves indicate the dating conglomerate is one of the main players in the fast-growing industry, expanding its competitive advantage by offering more niche dating apps.

In the fall of 2021, the company added Cupid Media to its growing portfolio, and now oversees more than 33 dating platforms, making it one of the world’s largest dating conglomerates along with Match Group, according to DatingNews.com. This acquisition also grew the company’s annual revenue to $300 million, which was already growing in the wake of the pandemic. Cupid Media owns dating apps AsianDating, LatinAmericanCupid, Muslima, FilipinoCupid, and ThaiCupid among others.

Dating Group has also acquired Dil Mil, a fast-growing dating app specifically for South Asian singles. At the time of acquisition, the app was growing at a rate of around 50% in overall downloads, with a 38% increase in active users, according to a press release from Dating Group. Dil Mil has become increasingly popular among South Asians in the U.S. and other countries who want a more targeted dating app experience. Dil Mil offers a diverse array of regional preferences with multiple language and religious options, something that the larger apps like Tinder can’t provide.

According to the L.A. Times, Dil Mil also asks users to highlight culturally specific personality traits with phrases like “chai drinker” “Bollywood buff” or “bhangra dancer” to identify their preferences, in addition to more general traits like “charismatic” and “considerate.”

And last year, Dating Group acquired dating app Once, one of the most popular among European singles. The name comes from the app’s focus on slow dating – offering users only one match per day so they can get to know each other before instantly swiping left or right and moving on to the next. At the time of acquisition, Once had over 10 million users.

“People have different dating styles and preferences…Increasingly, we’re seeing demand for social experiences that spark new connections beyond the boundaries of dating,” Bill Alena, Dating Group Chief Investment Officer, told DatingNews.com. “What’s clear is that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach in dating, so we’re looking to cater to all types of people and personalities by continuously expanding our portfolio with innovative new products and features.”

He went on to say: “As a company, we’re focused on three main areas: international dating; Venture Studio, which is a studio we’ve created to build products focused on the next evolution of dating; and a VC fund, which funds projects focused solely on the dating ecosystem.”

Dating Group has a team of over 500 employees across seven countries, and oversees several popular brands like Dating.com, DateMyAge, Promise, Tubit, ChinaLove, Dil Mil and Once, among others. Their dating apps are available in about 100 countries on mobile and web platforms.