Online Personals Watch: News on the Online Dating Industry and Business

Billionaire Ruben Vardanyan Invests in AI-Based Dating Service iris Dating

FORBES - Feb 24 - Vardanyan became a shareholder in iris Dating (NYC) which is powered by AI. "I understand that if by 2030 45% of Europeans are single, and if we see that people live another 30-40 years longer and at the same time many of them do not have a second half, then loneliness becomes one of the most important elements of the future world," Ruben reasoned.

iris Dating uses AI to understand the visual preferences of each user. AI determines what is interesting to a particular person and finds the photo which the user will like. On dating apps women like 3-5% of male profiles. On iris, girls like 30%. The service has selfie verification, and a reliability rating. Growth Director Daniel Mori is on the team and was VP Marketing at Zoosk for 5 years.

Mark Brooks (of Courtland Brooks) says "AI is most useful when we can see if people are successful in relationships. But this is difficult to do because users remove dating apps when they decide to end their online dating, which usually means they are happy or unhappy. Typically, we don't know the exact cause, and the AI ​​isn't getting the most optimal information." He estimates that it will cost $400,000 to develop a scalable, world-class dating application.

by Irina Yuzbekova
See full article at Forbes

See the top news on iris Dating

Ashley Whillans - Reclaiming Time, Living a Happier Life, and Improving Relationships

LTR - Feb 25 - Over 80% of working adults report feeling "time poor." The added stress of feeling like there is not enough time in the day to accomplish necessary tasks has had negative impacts on health and social relationships. Ashley Whillans, Assistant Professor in Negotiations, Organizations, and Markets at Harvard Business School discusses the importance of making smart decisions to balance time and money. According to research, the detrimental effects of time poverty surpass those of unemployment. The pandemic and working from home have increased the daily workload and aggravates the problem. Professor Ashley Whillans provides several proven strategies to reclaim time to live a happier life in the latest video in the LTR Conference series.

LTR stands for Love, Technology, Relationships and the online conference covers the Internet dating and Online Social Communities space. It is for members of IDEA and OSCA.

The November LTR was kindly sponsored by RealMe, vPaaS by The Meet Group, Utopia Analytics, Real Gifts & Courtland Brooks.

Bumble Has Taken off Since Its IPO but It's Way Overvalued

INVESTORPLACE - Feb 25 - Bumble has had a very successful IPO. One reason why BMBL stock has done so well after its IPO (up $28 from its $43 IPO price last week), is the high EV-to-EBITDA. MatchGroup made $2.4B and made EBITDA of $794.5M. As MTCH stock has an EV of $46.2B, its EV-to-EBITDA multiple is 58x. By comparison, Bumble made an adjusted EBITDA of $144.4M. This means its EV-to-EBITDA multiple is 56x. In other words, BMBL has a similar EV-to-EBITDA multiple compared to Match Group. But there is a problem. Bumble is not worth this high a multiple. Bumble is not worth more than $43.45 per share.

by Mark R. Hake
See full article at Investorplace

See the top news on Bumble

Matrimony.com Zooms 43% in 2 Days, Scales Fresh Record High

BUSINESS STANDARD - Feb 24 - JP Morgan Asset Management, which holds shares in Matrimony.com, is offloading its stake in the company via open markets through a bulk deal. The stock has surged 362% from its 52-week low of Rs 251 ($3.5) in March 2020. Shares of Matrimony.com hit a record high of Rs 1,160 ($16) after surging 19% on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Wednesday. The stock has zoomed 43% in the past two trading days.

See full article at Business Standard

See the top news on Matrimony.com

Sugarbook Founder Pleads Not Guilty to Publishing Post on 'Sugar Babies'

THE STRAITS TIMES - Feb 23 - The founder of Sugarbook has been charged at the Magistrate's Court in Malaysia over the publication of a post "Top 10 Sugar Baby Universities in Malaysia" with intention to cause public fear. The charge carries imprisonment of up to two years or fine or both. On Feb 15, the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) blocked access to Sugarbook for allegedly breaching the law on the use of network facilities or services. However, Sugarbook's developer then set up an alternative site to enable its users to access the blocked webpage.

See full article at The Straits Times

See the top news on Sugarbook

Grindr Polled 10K Users About Love During the Pandemic

OUT.COM - Feb 23 - Gay men are still hooking up, but there's a greater emphasis on love and safety than in pre-pandemic days, according to Grindr's recent survey. According to Grindr, 64% of the men surveyed said they were trying to find new socially-distant ways to meet up with other gay men. 48 % said they had virtual hookups, and another 31 % revealed they've hooked up while wearing a mask. 58% said they are now more interested in a long-term relationship and 67% said personality is more important than in pre-pandemic times.

by Donald Padgett
See full article at Out.com

See the top news on Grindr

Intentions - a New Dating App That Is Focused on Purposeful Dating

CAPE TOWN ETC - Feb 23 - Intentions is the brainchild of Ayal Belling. The first version of the app, named Predict, was launched in 2016 and after early market interest he joined forces with partner Maritza van den Heuvel and they reimagined the app as Intentions - the dating app that promises more good dates, sooner. The app focuses more on written content and compatibility than images. Users are asked twenty 'yes/no' questions to help understand their personality and values, and are then matched with the profiles of compatible users.

by Kirsten Jacobs
See full article at Cape Town Etc

See the top news on Intentions (previously Predict)

WooPlus Dating App Launches Zaftigx, a Lifestyle Fashion App

PR.COM - Feb 23 - WooPlus, a dating app for curvy people, is launching the new lifestyle fashion app Zaftigx for curvy women, where they can explore trends, enjoy deals, and cash back.

See full article at PR.com

See the top news on WooPlus

OkCupid Predicts August 1 as the Hottest Dating Day of the Year in UK

MASHABLE - Feb 23 - According to OkCupid, Aug. 1 will be "the hottest day for dating in 2021," after Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged to offer all UK adults the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by July 31. Vaccines are a hot topic among online daters at the moment, according to OkCupid data. The dating app reports a 137% increase in the mentions of 'vaccine' on OkCupid profiles between November 2020 and January 2021. 42% of OkCupid respondents said they'd cancel a date with someone who didn't want to take the vaccine.

by Rachel Thompson
See full article at Mashable

See the top news on OkCupid

App Spending to Reach $270B by 2025

TECH CRUNCH - Feb 23 - The app spending will reach $270B by 2025, including paid downloads, in-app purchases and subscriptions, according to Sensor Tower. In-app spending will return to pre-pandemic levels of stable growth over the next few years, downloads will continue to grow and app store spending in non-game apps will overtake mobile game spending by 2024. By 2024, Sensor Tower expects non-game spending to reach $86B compared with $73B in game spending. And by 2025, that gap will widen, with non-games reaching $107B while mobile games reach $78B. Last year, global consumer spending in the top 100 subscription apps was up by 34% YOY.

by Sarah Perez
See full article at Tech Crunch

Bumble Unveils Quirky Campaign in Hyderabad

EXCHANGE4MEDIA - Feb 23 - Bumble has partnered with Ritu Varma, Abijeet Duddala, Alekhya Harika and Shreyas Mediratta, who will share their dating tips and tricks to help women make the first move.

See full article at Exchange4Media

See the top news on Bumble

Snack, Where TikTok Meets Dating, Gets $3.5M

TECH CRUNCH - Feb 22 - Snack, founded by Kimberly Kaplan, looks to merge the popularity and format of TikTok with the dating world. Kaplan hails from Plenty of Fish, where she was one of the earliest employees. She led product, marketing and revenue and was on the executive team that eventually sold PoF to Match Group for $575M in 2015. Snack is a video-first dating app that asks users to create a video and post it to a feed. Other users can scroll through a feed rather than swipe right or left on individual profiles, and when someone likes a video, it opens up the ability to comment. Once two users have liked each others' videos, DMs are open. Kaplan said that Snack is also working on video editing features similar to that of TikTok to let people get super creative with their profiles. There are 10 people on the Snack team.

by Jordan Crook
See full article at Tech Crunch

This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com

Grindr to Be Hit With $12M Fine From The Norwegian Data Protection Authority

GLOBAL LEGAL CHRONICLE - Feb 22 - The Norwegian Data Protection Authority (Datatilsynet) has announced its intention to fine NOK100M ($12M) for what the regulator has described as illegal disclosure of user data to advertising firms. Should the fine be finalized, it would be the largest GDPR fine issued in the Nordics.

by Federica Tiefenthaler
See full article at Global Legal Chronicle

See the top news on Grindr

Scammers on Dating Apps and Social Media Made $304M in 2020

CNN - Feb 22 - A record $304M was reported lost to romance scams in 2020, up 50% from 2019. The pandemic has made things easier, creating legitimate reasons for scammers to hide their real motives, claiming they cannot meet in person or need money for medical treatment. According to the FTC, gift cards and wire transfers are the most commonly used payment methods by online scammers, both of which can be difficult to track.

by Shirin Ali
See full article at CNN

Matchmakers Busier Than Ever During the Pandemic

BOSTON HERALD - Feb 22 - Dating apps have seen a significant uptick in activity over the last year - Hinge reported a 19% increase in dates globally between 2019 and 2020 - but several single people have taken it one step further, seeking out dating coaches and matchmakers. Alexis Germany, a Las Vegas-based dating coach who shares advice on her TikTok, said her business has tripled. Dating experts say their new customers are more dedicated to finding a committed relationship and more open-minded when it comes to where a match is located.

by Arit John
See full article at Boston Herald

See the top news on Hinge