Finances

Match Group CFO Steven Bailey

Image: Match Group

Match Group has promoted Steven Bailey to the position of CFO, taking over for Gary Swidler as he continues in his role as president of the company.

Bailey is currently senior vice president of financial planning and business operations at Match Group, according to Reuters, and will assume his new position on March 31st. According to Reuters, his appointment signals the company’s commitment to “long-term strategic growth” and “strong cost discipline.”

Match Group’s most popular app Tinder has seen paying users and revenue fall in recent quarters, though Hinge continues to grow. The company has allocated a lot of resources to AI-driven features like photo selection and prompts that provide users help with crafting messages and bios, which seem to be the direction many dating apps are going. In fact, Grindr is testing out a new virtual wingman using generative AI.

New gay dating apps like Scruff and Archer are positioning themselves to capture a bigger portion of the LGBTQ+ online dating market as Grindr complaints and technical issues rise.

Grindr has long been the most popular dating app for gay daters, but recently people have posted complaints on social media and online forums, saying that they are experiencing technical issues, not getting access to the features they paid for, and other problems, according to Mashable.

This year, Grindr has experienced significant bugs and periods of downed service. At the same time, it has asked its users to pay more to access certain popular features, including limiting both “taps” and “explore” features and requiring them to buy subscriptions.

India-based dating app Schmooze just raised $4 million from Elevation Capital and other angel investors.

The meme-based dating app founded by Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Bengaluru helps people connect based on their senses of humor and allows them to express their personalities creatively through memes. The round of funding also included investments from the founders of Ultrahuman, The Souled Store, Mosaic Wellness and Paytm, according to Economic Times.

The funding comes at a time when dating app revenue has been declining and dating app companies are struggling to better monetize their platforms. Many are turning to AI for enhanced features, like photo selection, helping users craft bios, and added safety features, hoping to attract users willing to pay for such perks.

Schmooze is also touting its AI-driven features, and said that the new funds will be used to enhance its AI engine as well as for growing the company, according to Economic Times.

Dating app Bumble’s share value dropped 30 percent after the company slashed its annual growth revenue forecast in its second quarter earnings report.

According to Reuters, Bumble also fell below estimates for its second quarter revenue. The dating app company reported revenue of 268.6 million, below analyst expectations of $273 million.

This report worried investors who compared Bumble’s second quarter to rival Match Group’s, which reported relatively better revenue numbers driven by robust growth at Hinge and more stability at Tinder.

Dating app giant Match Group announced its plan to cut six percent of its workforce after numbers for the company’s second quarter fell short of expectations, according to BBC.

Match Group owns the popular dating app Tinder (which has seen a significant decline in downloads), along with Hinge, Plenty of Fish and OkCupid, among others. The company’s second quarter earnings report showed an 8 percent decline among the number of paying Tinder users according to multiple reports. Hinge still remains a bright spot with significant growth.

According to BBC, Match Group said job cuts would largely come from shutting down its live-streaming app Hakuna and removing live-streaming features from some of its dating apps. (Despite the popularity of livestreaming dating apps in China, it hasn’t really taken off in the rest of the world.)

Starboard Value has taken a stake in Match Group, the latest firm to join the company’s activist investors and criticize executives for its financial performance.

According to The Dallas Morning News, Starboard has built a 6.6 percent interest in Match Group, the parent company of dating app Tinder. The popular dating app has seen a drop in paying customers for six straight quarters, with little sign that things will turn around soon.

Starboard joins Elliott Investment Management LP and Anson Funds Management LP, two other activist investors who have demanded changes in Match Group’s operations. Starboard is planning to push for selling Match Group if it fails to turn things around, according to Dallas Morning News.