Internet Dating Investments

Cerca Dating App Raises $1.6M to Match Singles Through Mutual Friends

BUSINESS INSIDER - Cerca is a new dating app founded by U.S. college students that connects users through mutual friends, aiming to create a safer, more intentional dating experience. Users see only four profiles daily and need five friends to join. The app raised $1.6M in seed funding from Corazon Capital, led by former Match Group CEO Sam Yagan. With over 20K users, Cerca emphasizes accountability, limited swipes, and in-person events to move dating beyond hookup culture.

by Sydney Bradley
See full article at Business Insider

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Palm Has Invested in Three Day Rule

LINKEDIN - Founded in 2010, Three Day Rule reports ~21K matches and a user base of 225K. According to the company, it has an 83% customer satisfaction rate. The investment reflects Palm's interest in platforms addressing social isolation and relationship wellness. Daniela Plattner, Palm's co-founder, cited the "growing loneliness epidemic" in the U.S. as a key driver behind the decision. The plan is to expand Three Day Rule into a tech-enabled platform focused on helping users both find and maintain healthy relationships.

See full article at LinkedIn

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Mattr Nears Final 4% of Funding Round - Just £35K Left to Raise

LINKEDIN - Mattr, the dating app focused on vulnerability and real connection, is down to the final £35K of its funding round. Launched by Jamie Johnston post-pandemic, the platform has hit 26K+ downloads, 52K conversations, and 57 brand partners - built by a team of just three. After stalling with VCs, they turned to angels and lean execution, prioritizing trust and product focus. Mattr was just named one of London's Top 100 Startups of 2025 in Entrepreneur Magazine (p. 70–71).

See full article at LinkedIn

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Dating App HER Acquired by Match Group

BLOOMBERG - HER, the world's largest dating app for sapphic, queer, and LGBTQIA+ women and nonbinary people, has joined Match Group. Founded in 2013 as Dattch, HER now serves ~13M users globally. The partnership aims to strengthen HER's infrastructure, improve safety and trust systems, and accelerate global growth, while preserving the app's mission. HER's team and vision remain unchanged, and the platform will continue focusing on inclusive experiences for lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, transgender, nonbinary, and other underrepresented communities.

by Natalie Lung
See full article at Bloomberg

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BeeDee Acquires Meet Kinksters, Launches in Apple App Store

LINKEDIN - BeeDee, a sex-positive dating platform, has acquired Meet Kinksters, an app focused on romantic and sexual compatibility. The deal brings BeeDee to the Apple App Store for the first time. Meet Kinksters launched in 2022 and gained attention for its bold branding. BeeDee, co-founded by the creator of BDSMtest.org, launched in 2023 and has grown rapidly. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

See full article at LinkedIn

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Dating App Sitch Raises $2M

BUSINESS INSIDER - Sitch, an AI matchmaking app, has raised $2M in pre-seed funding led by Andreessen Horowitz's accelerator A16z Speedrun. The startup launched in New York City in Nov 2024 and plans to expand to other U.S. cities. Sitch uses a matchmaker chatbot built on OpenAI, trained on hundreds of real-life introductions by cofounder Nandini Mullaji, a part-time matchmaker. Users answer detailed questions about values and dating preferences, then receive up to five curated matches per week. They pay upfront, with pricing tiers ranging from $90 (3 setups) to $160 (8 setups). If ghosted after a setup, users get a refund. Sitch is also rolling out voice-based AI features and hiring full-time staff post-Speedrun. It manually reviews new user applications for quality and safety.

by Sydney Bradley
See full article at Business Insider

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DateSpot Acquires ValleyMatch to Grow AI Matchmaking Network

PR NEWSWIRE - DateSpot has acquired ValleyMatch to expand its AI-powered, pay-per-match matchmaking model across the U.S. DateSpot was founded by Carla Swiryn, a former Google marketer and experienced matchmaker who has matched hundreds of couples since 2014. ValleyMatch was launched in 2023 by Rebecca and Loc Nguyen, with a focus on modern, tech-enabled matchmaking. Rebecca will stay on through the transition. The acquisition brings ValleyMatch users access to DateSpot's larger network and AI features, while reinforcing DateSpot's position in the growing market for personalized, efficient matchmaking.

See full article at PR Newswire

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Match Group Quietly Acquired Salams, Backlash Grows

TURKIYE TODAY - Match Group quietly acquired Muslim matchmaking app Salams in late 2023, with the deal only revealed in a February 2025 earnings report. The move sparked backlash from users who said they were not informed. Criticism intensified after Match appointed Spencer Rascoff as CEO - the same day the acquisition was disclosed. Rascoff's past board role at surveillance firm Palantir and public support for the Israeli military have raised concerns among Muslim users. Some communities are now boycotting Salams and urging users to switch to other platforms.

See full article at Turkiye Today

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ProSiebenSat.1 Reclaims Full Control of ParshipMeet and NuCom in Deal Worth up to €98M

RETAIL NEWS - ProSiebenSat.1 is buying back full control of NuCom and ParshipMeet Group from investor General Atlantic in a deal that includes: €10M in cash, 5.9 M of its own shares (worth ~€38M) and a €50M payout due if ParshipMeet is sold later. The deal excludes beauty platform flaconi, where General Atlantic will keep a 28.4% stake, and ProSiebenSat.1 holds the rest. One condition for completing the deal is the sale of comparison site Verivox. This move gives ProSiebenSat.1 full control over its dating and e-commerce businesses and more flexibility for future sales or investments.

See full article at Retail News

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ProSieben Shares Hit as Investors Question Digital Asset Strategy

REUTERS - ProSiebenSat.1 shares dropped sharply after the company announced it's in talks to buy back General Atlantic's minority stake in NuCom Group, which owns several digital businesses, including ParshipMeet Group. This would give ProSieben full ownership of ParshipMeet and other NuCom assets while Verivox (a price comparison site) and Flaconi (a perfume retailer) are still being prepared for sale. Investors reacted negatively because they expected ProSieben to sell off non-TV businesses and not buy more of them. This follows pressure from its biggest shareholders, Italy's MFE-MediaForEurope and Czech group PPF, to focus only on its core broadcasting business.

by Isabel Demetz & Klaus Lauer
See full article at Reuters

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