Grindr is likely to offer shares to investors in an Initial Public Offering (Photo: Grindr)
Popular gay dating app Grindr may soon being going public, according to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
Tech entrepreneur Joel Simkhai launched Grindr in 2009. One of the first geosocial networking sites on the market, it benefited from the explosion in smartphone use and quickly became one of the most popular dating apps for gay and bisexual men. It says it has over 2million daily users.
In 2016, it sold a majority 61.5% shareholding to China’s Beijing Kunlun Tech for $93million. This was followed last year by the gaming company buying the remaining 38.5% for $152million – given it overall ownership.
Now, according to the Financial Times, the board of Kunlun have unaminously agreed an initial public offering (IPO).
According to a filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, Grindr accounted for 4% of Kunlun’s overall profits last year, and the app has been ‘continuously profitable’ for three years.
Kindr to debut in September
Money raised from the IPO will go towards further expansion and development.
Although primarily used by gay and bisexual men to meet, hook-up and date, the app has expanded in the last two years to also offer articles and video content via its online magazine, Into.
Next month, it’s due to debut new initiative, Kindr. This is believed to be a response to users experiencing racism and other forms of discrimination on the site. At the moment, the company has only teased the campaign, with the tagline, ‘It’s time to play nice’. The project will be rolled out from 19 September.
An expected date for the IPO has not yet been revealed.
See also
Gay man attempts to sue Grindr for allowing ‘No Asians’ comments
Grindr to allow users in anti-gay countries to change Grindr icon on their phone to keep them safe
