Bumble files for IPO – CNN

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The company filed proceedings Friday for a first public offering, which could set it up for a Wall Street debut at a time when dating apps have become a lifeline for single people during the pandemic. .

The company reported revenue of $ 376.6 million between January 29 and September 30 last year. During the same period, the company recorded a net loss of $ 84.1 million.

Bumble was founded in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd, who began her career on Tinder. She it was initially proposed to create a women-oriented social network before arriving at the concept of a women-centered dating app. Bumble requires women to look for heterosexual coincidences to take the first step, the idea is that this feature would allow women to make their own decisions. It came out: Austin-based Bumble has become a household name and now includes services beyond dating, including professional networking (Bumble Bizz) and finding new friends (Bumble BFF).

According to its IPO, the Bumble dating empire had 42.1 million monthly active users at the end of September.

He sued Tinder, founded Bumble and is now 30, the CEO of a $ 3 billion dating empire.

“We remain committed to the great opportunity we have to make dating healthier and more equitable around the world, not just for women, but for people across the gender spectrum,” Wolfe Herd wrote in a letter. which accompanied the IPO procedures.

Bumble is about to go public after other successful tech IPOs. Airbnb and DoorDash shot up in their latest public market debuts, suggesting strong investor interest.

Unlike many other tech companies, most of Bumble’s board of directors is made up of women. At 31, Wolfe Herd will become one of the youngest women technology CEOs to make her company public. Katrina Lake, the founder and CEO of Stitch Fix, was the youngest woman in technology to do so in 2017, when she was 34 years old.

Investment firm Blackstone bought a majority stake in Bumble’s parent company – then called MagicLab, but since it changed its name to Bumble – to Russian billionaire Andrey Andreev in 2019. The parent company also includes Badoo, a popular digital dating service outside the United States, founded by Andreev. in 2006.

Andreev was a partner of Wolfe Herd from the beginning of Bumble. As part of the deal, Andreev sold his stake and left the business; Wolfe Herd took over the helm. The Blackstone deal values ​​Bumble, the parent company, at $ 3 billion.

The online dating space is full, with competing apps like Tinder, Hinge, Match and OKCupid, all owned by Match Group. But Wolfe Herd has worked to differentiate his company, from making a public coup and blocking a misogynist user to banning gun photos and marking obscure images sent through direct messages to his app. She has also used her profile to focus her weight on issues related to women and the digital world. In 2019, she and Bumble successfully championed a new Texas law banning digital sexual harassment.

“Our long-term vision is to be the platform to meet new people, no matter what you may be looking for, whatever your stage or life situation,” Wolfe Herd wrote in the letter to investors. “We will do so with our innovative technology and upholding equality, both through legislation and with the power of our trusted brand.”

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