Pride Month: Grindr goes public

As cities around the world kickoff Pride Month, more marketplaces are opening up for LGBTQ+ customers with a high return for successes. One of the most popular Queer dating apps, and marketplace success story, Grindr went public last month through a SPAC IPO in a bid to raise over $280M in cash. But Grindr's success hasn't been felt by the rest of the market as VC funding in dating apps last year reached only $118M, a fall of over 35% between 2015 and 2021.

VCs have shied away from investing as the low development cost has flooded the dating market with alternative apps and few noticeable exits. Add the fact that a successful user experience can mean not having the customer on the platform in the near future, creating a constant demand to find new users can hold back scale. 

Since 2017, over 15,000 dating apps have raised a total of $757M in VC funding, compared to the 6,000+ social media startups raising $13.5B in the same time span. However, recognizable market winners like Tinder have been increasing revenue and user count since 2018 and show potential in the late stage phase.

Grindr's IPO and companies like Fruitz, which was acquired by Bumble, are mounting up the case for potential exits in the dating market, specially for companies showing their capacity to find their demographic and successfully engage with them. 

Total funding rounds of dating apps from 2010 - present:

On Dealroom, we've curated a list of 100+ funding rounds of dating startups and scaleups. Click the button below and discover how the dating market is shaping up. 👇

In the News:

🚨 Shakeup at World's Biggest NFT  Marketplace, Opensea. The NYT has released a breakdown of stories that have started plaguing the NFT marketplace. From theft to lawsuits, how the startup’s scaling had led to its current situation. - The New York Times

🚚 Amazon Closes Its Freelance Transport Service. The platform has closed its Flex program, started in 2015 in the US to allow freelancers to execute deliveries with their own vehicles. The company declined to say why it closed down its 67 delivery stations in the country, but reportedly has been able to substitute the network with more formal delivery methods. - Bloomberg

🇮🇩 Super, the Indonesian wholesale marketplace that targets rural locations, has raised a $70M Series C. The startup focuses on attending areas with low GDP per capita and currently has a network in 30 cities. The funding will be used to expand to new regions and develop new private label products to go along with its offerings.

🇮🇳 BigBasket, an Indian grocery delivery platform, has raised $45M from Tata Group, just a month after raising another $130M from the same investor in an acquisition. In the middle of a significantly funded market, BigBasket is reportedly profitable since the beginning of 2020 and continues to gain in margins by developing private label products. 

🇰🇷 Dr.Now, the South Korean-based telemedicine marketplace, has raised over $30M in a Series B round. The platform saw a surge in users during the pandemic and has seen over 3M downloads. Investors include SoftBank and Mirae Asset Capital.

Other promising marketplace deals:

🇫🇷 Upway, the French reconditioned electric bike marketplace, has raised a $25M Series A to fund expansion into new regions. Other than France, the startup operates in Belgium and plans to reach Germany, the Netherlands and the US in the next 6 months. The platform diminishes the high cost barrier in electric bikes by refurbishing and selling inventory at up to a 60% discount compared to new bikes.

🇺🇸 Felux, a Cleveland-based B2B steel and industrial materials marketplace, has raised $19.5M in a Series A round aimed at growing its team and product offerings.

Explore 63 funding rounds of the last week.

Notable exits:

🇺🇸 Freightos, a Miami-based B2B logistics platform, has undergone a SPAC IPO to be listed on NASDAQ and raise over $80M. 

🇺🇸 Wrench, the Seattle-based auto repair service marketplace, has acquired competitor YourMechanic for an undisclosed amount to fuel its expansion in the US.

Explore 12 exits of the last week.

Tip of the week

Last week our CEO spoke virtually at the London event Allocate, we recorded the main findings about how the VC market is reacting the the market crash through three lenses: startup investment data, investor landscape and the future of VC. 

Click here and see the presentation. 👈

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Christopher V. Dobereiner

Innovation Analyst
Dealroom

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