Grindr, the dating app for gay and bisexual men, has brought in a Chinese investor, gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech (they helped introduce Angry Birds to China). They paid $98.4 million for the controlling stake of 60% in the company.
So what’s in it for the company? Beijing Kunlun Tech is relying on the popularity of Grindr to bring in a giant influx of new users to their games, which will then of course bring in a substantial amount of cash value to the gaming company. Makes complete sense. The gay community is actually a very “hot” spot to find avid gamers of all genres.
The founder of Grindr, Joel Simkhai (pictured above, farthest to the right), promises the users of the gay dating app that it will continue to be “business as usual” for Grindr – with the exception that they plan to “expand services.” Right now, Grindr sees 2 million users daily from 196 different countries. They simply tap on pictures to read a concise profile, chat, and if there is a connection, make arrangements to meet for a date.
Surprisingly, China is not listed in the top 10 countries of active, daily users. The United States is found at the top of the list, with the UK, Mexico, Brazil and France below. So why isn’t China is the mix? They have steep competition with another gay dating app called, Blued. A former cop, Ma Baoli, created that app back in 2012 and that is where the gay community in China is found – in the world of apps.
Dating apps struggle to keep their customers. Why? Because once the singles find their match, they no longer have any need of a dating app service, and there ya go…customer gone. Sure there are breakups, and new singles daily, but as it goes, it’s not like an Amazon Prime account where customers will renew annually to keep the free shipping and services that will never get old or “un-needed.” Finding new ways of competing with the likes of Blued and some other competitors is necessary to keep steady growth for Grindr.
So, having a Chinese investor linked to Grindr is perhaps going to help them gain a bigger following in China and give Blued a run for their money, all while simultaneously giving the gaming company a big boost in users.
Image credit to Twitter