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

AI Is Transforming India's Matrimony Industry

THE WALRUS - India has ~1,500 matrimony platforms, a market worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Betterhalf.ai, launched in 2016, competes with Shaadi.com, Jeevansathi, and Matrimony.com by using AI for matchmaking without parental involvement. Traditional arranged marriages still dominate, with 90% of Indian marriages arranged, and on Shaadi.com, 40–50% of profiles are managed by parents. Matrimony.com, India's largest publicly listed matrimony platform, had a market value of ~$16M and annual revenue of $57M, 850K subscribers, and ~100K successful matches as of 2021. Betterhalf.ai, founded by MIT graduates Gupta and Namdev, has 1M monthly users and a 30% paid subscriber retention rate, outperforming Bumble, Hinge, and Tinder (10% retention). In March 2023, it raised $8.5M from investors, including Instagram and Dropbox co-founders. The company plans to evolve into a "marriage super app," offering wedding services, pregnancy support, and more.

by Mihika Agarwal
See full article at The Walrus

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Shaadi.com and Truecaller Partner to Enhance User Safety

ANI NEWS - Shaadi.com has partnered with Truecaller to improve user safety in online matchmaking. Truecaller's Verified Business Caller ID solution helps users identify genuine calls from Shaadi.com. Truecaller is a global leader in verifying contacts and blocking unwanted communication. Founded in 2009 and headquartered in Stockholm, Truecaller has ~400M active users and ~1B downloads. Truecaller has identified and blocked close to 46B unwanted calls in 2023 alone.

See full article at ANI News

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Shaadi.com Founder Anupam Mittal Criticizes Dating Apps in New Ad

AFAQS - Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, appears in a new ad criticizing dating apps for fostering commitment-phobic relationships. The ad, created by Moonshot, suggests Shaadi.com as a better alternative for finding committed partners. Mittal's criticism extends beyond the ad, as he highlighted issues like unbalanced user demographics and lack of serious commitment on dating apps. His stance is supported by data showing 79% of Gen Z experiencing dating app fatigue. Shaadi.com recently launched VIPshaadi.com, a personalized matchmaking service.

See full article at Afaqs

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Shaadi.com Launches VIP Shaadi.com Ad Campaign

FINANCIAL EXPRESS - Shaadi.com has launched an ad campaign for its new exclusive matchmaking service, VIP Shaadi.com. The campaign, featuring actor Ronit Roy, includes TV and digital ads highlighting the benefits of the premium service. VIP Shaadi.com offers personalized matchmaking by handpicking profiles based on lifestyle, values, and familial environment.

See full article at Financial Express

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Anupam Mittal Said He Purchased Shaadi.com Domain for $25K

INDIAN EXPRESS - Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com, said that dating sites like Bumble and Tinder are not making much progress in India. He expressed skepticism about their profitability, citing an imbalance in the dating scene. Contrary to popular belief, Mittal stated that millennials are a significant part of Shaadi.com's audience, challenging the notion that they prefer dating apps. He recently revealed that he paid $25K for Shaadi.com domain in the late 1990s, when his company had $30K in the account.

See full article at Indian Express

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Google Deletes All Matrimony.com Apps, and Most Competitor Apps

LINKEDIN, CEO POST - Google has deleted BharatMatrimony, Naukri, Shaadi, 99acres, KukuFm, Stage and many others apps from play store citing Google play billing system (GBPS). They deleted all our (Matrimony.com) apps, over 100, including BharatMatrimony, TamilMatrimony, MarathiMatrimony, Jodii, etc.

Google tried to implement GBPS a few years ago where it forced digital services apps to use their billing system and pay 15% or 30% of revenue compared to less than 2% what apps pay for using other payment gateways. We went to the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and CCI levied a Rs. 936 CR penalty on Google.

CCI's Verdict: Google shall allow, and not restrict any app developers using third party billing/payment processing services.

Google changed their policy so the options are:

1. Pay either 15% or 30% using Google.
2. Pay 11% or 26% for using 3rd party payment gateways.
3. Don't collect payment through app.

If you don't accept any of the above, your app will be deleted. This is what Google has done to most of the popular matrimony apps today.

See full article at LinkedIn

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Shaadi.com: 26 Years of Love and Success

BUSINESS OUTREACH - Shaadi.com, established in 1996 by Anupam Mittal, has grown to be a leading online matchmaking service globally, boasting over 5M marriage success stories. The platform, initially met with skepticism, now attracts 1.5M active users monthly, emphasizing a rigorous screening process and a secure environment. It operates on a subscription-based revenue model and continues to innovate with features like Shaadi Live. Eligible singles can engage in virtual meetings with up to 10 potential matches during hour-long Shaadi Live events occurring every 10 days.

by Nishat Manzar
See full article at Business Outreach

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Shaadi.com Founder Anupam Mittal Weighs in on Play Store Billing Row

LIVEMINT - Anupam Mittal, founder of Shaadi.com and a member of a task force against Google's Play Store billing system, criticizes Google's 30% fee for using its payment system as detrimental to businesses, especially given the additional advertising costs on the app store. He calls for reforms in light of Google's dominant market behavior and recent legal setbacks, advocating for lower fees and alternative payment systems. Mittal warns against the long-term effects of Google's policies on local businesses and suggests that alternatives could quickly replace Google if necessary. He also contrasts Google's practices with Apple's, noting the latter's smaller market share and ecosystem-specific policies.

by Anwesha Mitra
See full article at Livemint

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Shaadi.com Opens Pune Office

CITY AIR NEWS - India's top matchmaking platform, Shaadi.com, launched a new 5,000 sq. ft. office in Pune's Meridian Plaza in August 2023. Housing a 70-member sales team, the expansion is part of the company's nationwide growth, with recent openings in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata. The move anticipates a 30% workforce increase by year-end.

See full article at City Air News

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The Future of Matrimonial Sites in India

MEDIANEWS4U - Matrimony.com's founder and CMD, Murugavel Janakiraman, is reflecting on the future of his company in light of recent reports that Match Group is considering investing in Shaadi.com, an Indian matrimony site, and InfoEdge's acquisition of the dating site Aisle through JeevanSaathi.com. Janakiraman notes that while dating sites have been around in India for about a decade, they haven't generated the expected revenues and have realized that matrimony sites are where the money is. He also observes that women are increasingly taking the decision to marry into their own hands and that the younger generation wants equality in marriages. Janakiraman believes that communication and design are the keys to successful marriages and plans to host webinars for couples to educate them on this. The company is committed to serving its audience and building a long-lasting organization that can evolve beyond the founder's involvement. Matrimony.com also has a growing wedding services business, including Wedding Bazaar and Mandap.com, and recently launched RainbowLuv for the LGBTQIA+ community.

by Gokul Krishnamoorthy
See full article at MediaNews4U

See the top news on Matrimony.com              See the top news on Shaadi
See the top news on Jeevansathi                    See the top news on Aisle

Match Group to Invest in Indian Matrimonial Site Shaadi

ECONOMIC TIMES - Match Group is in advanced discussions with Shaadi.com for a strategic investment in the Indian company. The exact financial terms and arrangement are yet to be ascertained. Shaadi.com founder Anupam Mittal didn't respond to queries. Match Group said that it does not comment on speculation. In an interview to a business daily in Sep last year, Mittal had said the company was planning to go public in the next fiscal year. Mittal is the founder and CEO of People Group, which runs the matchmaking site.

by Anumeha Chaturvedi
See full article at Economic Times

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This post also appears on InternetDatingInvestments.com

Anupam Mittal Shares How He Managed to Raise Funds in Early Days

MASHABLE - From chasing VCs to becoming one, Mittal has become more than a matchmaker. His Shaadi.com venture is India's largest matchmaking platform, where Mittal constantly innovates with shifts in times and technologies. His gig as a Shark at the popular business reality Shark Tank India has made him a household name. Mittal laments that back in 2006 when he first stepped out to raise funds for Shaadi.com, there were hardly any VCs in India. He packed his suitcase and went to Silicon Valley, where all the Private Equity biggies and VCs were huddled. But it was way tougher than he could imagine. Mittal doesn't reveal the name of the first VC but says that the process took 4-5 months and they could garner the required funds.

by James Paul
See full article at Mashable

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Shaadi.com Pitches Itself as a Serious Dating Platform in the US, UK, Canada and UAE

AFAQS - The matchmaking segment in India is growing at a fast pace. According to Statista, the market volume of matchmaking will reach $302M by 2027. The revenue will grow at a rate of 0.91% (annually) between 2023 and 2027. And, the number of matrimonial platform users will increase to 29M by 2027. One of the big players in the market is Shaadi.com, which was founded in 1996 by Anupam Mittal. It also operates in Canada, UAE, the UK, and the US. In India, Shaadi positioned itself as a matchmaking service, as families are involved. Globally, Shaadi positions itself as a serious dating platform.

by Yash Bhatia    
See full article at Afaqs

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Shaadi Launches Live Speed Dating Events

EE - Shaadi, an Indian matchmaking company is launching Shaadi Live, online speed-dating events. Shadi Live will give singles an opportunity to meet ~10 potential matches over a 5 minutes video call each. The event will happen every 10 days and will last one hour. 

See full article at EE

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The Pricing Puzzle of Dating Apps

A MEDIUM FOR MEDIA - How companies make money off dating apps that are 'designed to be deleted'. Some elite apps like Raya and Lox Club work on memberships. Market leaders Tinder, Hinge and Bumble operate on a "freemium" model. A paying customer is statistically more likely to find a successful match and, as such, has no need for the product anymore. Freemium pricing hooks customers, then lures them to top-ups and premium features. ARPU for dating apps has been steadily increasing, but paying customers represent less than 10% of the total for Tinder (and are below 5% for Hinge and Bumble). Advertising revenues account for a very small portion of revenue. i.e. 3% of revenue for Bumble. Hinge has done away with advertising altogether. Innovative monetization modes include
a. Offerwalls - Users complete virtual tasks for tokens that act as a proxy to premium services.
b. Data Swaps - Virtual tokens used to unlock features in exchange for permissions to sell data to third-parties.
c. Unlocking individual matches - e.g. shaadi.com users create profiles for free, but Shaadi charge them on successful matches.

by Zarir Marfatia
See full article at A Medium for Media

Mark Brooks: How do you think dating apps should monetize in the future? Please join the conversation on this topic, on this Swell. Your opinion matters. Please voice it here. ;-)