Tantan

Tantan, the popular dating app often referred to as China’s Tinder, was recently removed from the Chinese app store in an effort by the government to “clean up content in cyberspace,” according to ZDNet.

There were no specifics given as to why the app was removed, but the company issued a statement saying that it is complying with the government’s requirements. The app was removed from both the Apple and Android stores in China.

Momo, Tantan’s parent company, also issued a statement saying it was "proactively communicating with the relevant government authorities" and will "fully cooperate" to restore the app's availability "as soon as possible," according to Yahoo! Finance. Shares of the company tumbled after the app’s removal.

Tantan, one of the highest grossing dating apps in the world in the first quarter of 2019, has been removed from Android app stores by order of governmental authorities in China due to a violation of policies. The popular dating app was often referred to as “China’s Tinder” and had been acquired by Momo in May 2018.

The details of the ban are unclear. The official statement from Tantan did not reveal the specific nature of the violations. The company merely said it would cooperate fully with authorities and promised to "conduct a comprehensive internal review of the content in the Tantan mobile app and undertake other measures necessary to stay in full compliance with all relevant laws and regulations.”

Image: Sensor Tower

After more than two years in the top spot, Netflix is no longer the world’s highest-grossing non-gaming mobile app. That title now goes to Tinder, which grossed $260.7 million from the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store in the first quarter of this year.

App store intelligence firm Sensor Tower recently released its rankings of the highest grossing apps in the United States and worldwide for Q1 2019. Overall, global app revenue reached $19.5 billion last quarter, up nearly 17 percent year-over-year. Consumer spending on Apple’s App Store totaled approximately $12.4 billion globally, while Google Play revenue grew 20.2 percent year-over-year to approximately $7.1 billion. The world is increasingly moving to mobile, and for companies that are prepared to capitalize on the change, the potential for profit is huge.

The dating industry remains a firm favorite for entrepreneurs who dream of founding the next breakout startup. But for many big-time investors, new dating platforms are risky ventures in a crowded market that may not be worth betting on. In honor of Valentine’s Day, Crunchbase News took a look at the relationship between startups, investors and the pursuit of finding a mate. Their status? It’s complicated.

Online dating has proved it can be an enormously profitable industry, yet despite producing impressive numbers, it often struggles to lure venture funding. “In 2018,” writes Joanna Glasner, “venture investors put $127 million globally into 27 startups categorized by Crunchbase as dating-focused. While that’s not chump change, it’s certainly tiny compared to the more than $300 billion in global venture investment across all sectors last year.”

Global venture investment in dating startups currently leans heavily toward companies based in China. Blued, a China-based dating app for gay men, received nearly 80 percent of dating-related capital in 2018. In 2017, Chinese mobile dating app Tantan received the bulk of dating investment. In 2014, Beijing-based matchmaking site Baihe raised a staggering $250 million.

Chinese Tinder clone Tantan is embracing the future with open arms.

Like several of its colleagues in the United States -- including Match, Happn, and Hinge -- Tantan is experimenting with artificial intelligence as a tool for modern matchmaking. Chief Executive Yu Wang announced earlier this month at RISE Hong Kong that AI is a primary focus for the company in the second half of 2018, and that he hopes it will be a key driver of growth going forward.

The technology will be used to improve the accuracy of user acquisition and advertising, as well as to boost growth in user numbers and revenues more generally.