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Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe

Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd spoke out against parent company Badoo in the wake of allegations made by more than a dozen employees that it promoted a toxic work culture, especially for women.

An exclusive by Forbes revealed allegations made by thirteen former Badoo employees who worked at the company’s London headquarters, citing a sexist office culture with drug-fueled parties, employees naming engineering updates after porn stars, and a widely circulated video of an employee receiving oral sex from a prostitute.

Forbes also said the employees specifically named Badoo owner Andrey Andreev, who also owns a majority stake in Bumble, of making derogatory comments around race and physical appearance.

Image: Rock The Vote

Popular dating app Hinge has announced its partnership with activist organization Rock the Vote in anticipation of the 2020 Presidential election, according to The Hill.

Capitalizing on the high-profile press the company received when Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg revealed that he’d met his husband Chasten on the app, Hinge has decided to throw its app in the political ring.

Image: Zoosk

Online dating conglomerate Spark Networks announced its purchase of Zoosk for $258 million USD. The popular dating app was acquired with a combination of cash and stock, and Spark will have full ownership of Zoosk shares.

According to the terms of the deal, Spark will issue 12,980,000 ADSs (American Depository Shares) to former Zoosk shareholders, valued at $152 million based on the closing price of Spark ADSs of $11.78 on June 28, 2019. It also provides for a cash consideration of $150 million, subject to adjustment, according to the company’s press release. Former Zoosk shareholders owned 49 percent of the company.

Image: Bumble

You swiped right, you chatted, you’re ready to take the plunge and meet in person - now what? If you’re in New York City, your next step could soon be a visit to a cafe and wine bar run by Bumble. The Austin-based company will open the space, which it has named Bumble Brew, in fall 2019 in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood.

By day, Bumble Brew will be a cafe serving pastries and coffee. By night, it will transform into a wine bar serving $12 to $16 glasses of vino and a selection of small plates. Bumble intends for the 70-seat venue to be a meeting space for users of the app who are networking, on a date or meeting friends. It will also host demonstrations from female chefs, BFF parties, networking events and date nights.

Dating apps are incredibly popular, but as they saturate the U.S. market, the significant growth of the last few years is not expected to continue through 2019. Research analysts at eMarketer found that while the number of people use dating apps in the country has grown to a whopping 25 million, the market demand is starting to slow down.

According to Business Insider, apps like Tinder, Bumble and OkCupid, (all owned by Match Group), ^[1] have contributed to the growing interest in dating apps, launching new features every few months to attract new (and young) users.

In big news for the dating app industry – Democratic Presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg met his husband on Hinge. And after his public remarks praising the dating app, it seems Hinge has also seen a spike in gay users.

Fortune reported that the app has seen a 30 percent increase in gay memberships since April 1^st, around the time the rising star mayor of South Bend Indiana disclosed he used the app and ended up meeting his husband Chasten on it.

“We’re proud of all of the relationships we’ve helped set up — including Mayor Pete and Chasten,” Hinge CEO Justin McLeod told Fortune. “We’re happy to see that their love story has encouraged even more members of the LGBTQ community to find their person on Hinge.”