Internet Dating Investments

Dua.com Buys Spotted.de and Closes $4M Series A Round

DUA.COM - Headquartered in Zurich, dua.com initiated its operations in late 2019. It started by reconnecting Albanians, its first globally fragmented community with a large diaspora. With an initially small team, dua.com joined numerous incubators in Europe and the U.S., namely the Harvard Innovation Labs, Uplift Europe, and Innovation Centre Kosovo. dua.com connects international migrants, expats, and diaspora communities. It has acquired the German dating app 'Spotted.de', and combined the platforms - dua.com and Spotted.de - have 5M registered users. The company completed Seed and Series A rounds, raising a total of $4.9M.

by Argjenda Selmani
See full article at Dua.com blog

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Australian Dating App Ziinkle Is Raising $2.2M

B&T - The $2.2M funding announcement follows Ziinkle's acceptance into the world-renowned Newchip Accelerator Program, where the tech startup was chosen out of over 1K applicants. Launched in March 2022, Ziinkle gets people meeting in real life by providing real-time information about which venues are buzzing with singles.

See full article at B&T

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Urban Swan Raises $2M in Seed Funding

SMART COMPANY - Urban Swan is a Gen Z dating startup based in Australia, that partners with Sydney and Melbourne vendors to provide users with unforgettable date experiences. Currently focused on Sydney, the cash injection will help fund its expansions to other major Australian cities in 2023. Urban Swan was founded in 2021. It taps into the 'experience economy' that has become increasingly popular with millennials and gen Z thanks to TikTok and Instagram.There has been a demand for interesting and fun experiences that go beyond bars and restaurants. Urban Swan cited some of its most popular dates include axe throwing, pottery classes and infrared saunas. According to Urban Swan, 72% of the customers are aged 18-35 and they're spending an average of $150 per experience.

by Tegan Jones
See full article at Smart Company

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OnlyFans Founder, Tim Stokely, Invests in FITFCK at a £3M Valuation

LINKEDIN - FITFCK is a dating app that allows users to filter potential dating or training partners by fitness level, gender, sexuality, location and age. The app was launched in 2018 by Jamie Wykes-Hobday.

See full article at LinkedIn

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Singapore-based Firm Behind Uplive and Lamour to List on NYSE

SCMP - Asia Innovations Group (ASIG), the tech start-up behind live streaming service Uplive and dating app Lamour, is set to become a publicly listed company on the New York Stock Exchange through a merger with Magnum Opus Acquisition. The acquisition is expected to close in the Q1 of 2023. The estimated value of the company once merged is $2.5B. Existing shareholders of ASIG will own 84% of the combined company. In 2020 the company nearly doubled its registered users to 312M, further increasing that to 400M as of Dec 2021. Revenue grew 100% YOY in 2021.

by Mia Castagnone
See full article at SCMP

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CarpeDM, Dating App for Black Women, Raised $1M Pre-Seed Round

PR NEWSWIRE - CarpeDM has closed its oversubscribed pre-seed financing round, bringing total capital raised by the early stage startup to $1.054M. CarpeDM is a tech-enabled matchmaking service and video-based dating app designed to help professional Black women, and all those seeking to date them, find love. The app is currently available in the Washington D.C. area.

See full article at PR Newswire

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Marriage Pact Secures $5M in Seed Funding

STANFORD DAILY - Marriage Pact, a research-based matchmaking company founded at Stanford, received $5M in seed funding. The service is active on 60 college campuses. The Marriage Pact closed the deal this September, joining Bain's $10 billion portfolio of assets under management. The Marriage Pact releases an annual survey for college students with 50 questions. Marriage Pact's software then algorithmically pairs respondents to maximize their compatibility.

by Matthew Turk
See full article at Stanford Daily

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Dating App Clover Inks $157M SPAC Merger

LAW360 - FoxWayne has entered into a definitive agreement to combine with dating app Clover for $157.45M in share consideration. Clover is a dating app aimed at Gen Z and millennials with live streaming and other social features. FoxWayne brings ~$13.7M in cash into the deal.

by Danielle Ferguson
See full article at Law360

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Dating App Smitten Raises $10M in Series A Funding

VENTUREBEAT - Smitten, a dating app for Generation Z and Centennials, has raised $10M in Series A funding. Among the investors are Makers Fund, Possible Ventures, Wonder Invest, and more. This new round of funding will help the company expand into new territories and grow its user base. As the app shows users different profiles, they have the options to play games to get to know the person.

by Jason McMaster
See full article at VentureBeat

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LuvHut Acquires Dive to Expand IRL Meetups

PRESS RELEASE - LuvHut, a dating app founded in Boston, is acquiring Dive, an event-based platform for singles. The platform allows users to book dates directly in the app while helping partnered restaurants increase visibility and reservations from LuvHut users. To date, LuvHut has raised $460K and plans to use these funds to bolster its footprint across New England and Florida after the acquisition of Dive.

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