Grindr

Dating app Grindr closes out 2022 on a high note, reporting a 34 percent increase in year-over-year earnings to $195 million, showing a positive outlook for the coming year to investors since the app went public.

According to Fast Company, monthly average users rose to about 12 million, up from 11 million at the same time last year. Paying users also grew from 703,000 to 873,000 over the last year.

This was the company’s first earnings report as a public company, and with the impressive numbers, shares more than doubled throughout the trading day, according to Fast Company. The article was quick to point out that the dating app industry in general is still volatile despite earnings, as shown by Bumble’s fluctuating share price and secondary stock offering, as well as the recent Match Group dip. Since Grindr’s report came out, the company’s stock has gone down.

After a rough patch at the end of November where the newly launched stock for dating app Grindr hit an all-time low, it is now looking more promising for potential investors.

Seeking Alpha reported that shares on November 29th opened at $8, reaching a high of $9 before falling to $6.52 in the late afternoon. The stock had only debuted on November 18, following its merger with SPAC Tiga Acquisition Corp which valued the combined company at $2.1 billion. Shares of the combined company rose over 500 percent before closing its first day at $36.50, but then plunged the next day and did not recover through the end of November and into December.

Grindr however released its third quarter earnings report in early December, noting that revenue for the quarter was up 32 percent year-over-year to $50.4 million, and year-to-date revenue was up to $140.5 million. 

Dating app Grindr launched its initial public offering in mid-November and saw its stock quickly soar thanks to enthusiastic investors, and despite the recent downturn of tech and dating app markets. The stock rose more than 400 percent after it launched.

According to MarketWatch, the stock debuted at $16.90 on Friday November 18th, and hit a high of $71.51 before noon. It then closed out the day at $36.50. The LGBTQ+ dating app merged with Tiga Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company, and debuted that day on the NYSE under the symbols GRND and GRND.WS. Unfortunately, a week and a half later and now the stock has trading as low as $7.63.

"Today marks an important milestone not only for the team at Grindr, but for the LGBTQ community we serve," said Grindr's chief executive officer, George Arison, in a statement reported by NPR. "We enter the public markets with momentum, carried by our market leadership, strong financial performance and significant growth runway as we step up investment in our core product and services."

Joel Simkhai, founder popular gay dating app Grindr, has launched a new queer dating app called Motto.

In an interview with NBC News, Simkhai said he launched the new app to “course-correct” the current culture of gay dating apps. He noted that many (including Grindr) have contributed to a rise in racial discrimination among gay daters, as well as contributing to feelings of body dissatisfaction and low self-esteem in regard to body image.

Motto provides features to counteract and prevent what Skimkhai called “toxicity” on gay dating apps, including requiring users to post photos with faces instead of the popular “headless torsos” that are prominent on apps like Grindr. He’s also limiting users to perusing 10 profiles per day, so they can take their time instead of endlessly swiping.

Image: Grindr

Dating app Grindr announced the launch of its new video series Play Safe, intended to educate dating app users about its safety policies and practices. The videos will be available in the app as well as across the company’s social channels.

According to the company’s press release, the safety features the dating app will be highlighting include the ability to mute, block and report bad actors on the app. Grindr says its team of “human moderators who have been trained on LGBTQ-specific cultural sensitivities and gender-inclusive content moderation” will be reviewing all reports around the clock.

“We work day-in and day-out to make Grindr a place where our users can feel safe and supported, because we know that the world at large is not always accepting of the LGBTQ community,” said Alice Hunsberger, VP of Customer Experience at Grindr.

Grindr CEO George Arison

Dating app Grindr, which serves the LGBTQ+ community, named board member George Arison as its new CEO. He is scheduled to launch the company’s IPO this fall with a $2.1 billion valuation.

Arison is scheduled to take the reins on October 19th. He has long worked in the tech industry and been a board member of the company since May, according to NBC News. Prior to his appointment as CEO, he founded the car reseller app Shift Technologies, where he also served as CEO, and before that he headed a taxi-hailing app.

In addition to hiring a new CEO, Grindr also appointed a new CFO, the former CFO of Disney Streaming Service Vanna Krantz, who launched and grew the highly successful Disney+ product. Grindr’s outgoing CEO Jeff Bonforte and CFO Gary Hsueh will move into advisory roles going forward, according to NBC News.