Bumble sold to investment firm

Investment firm Ithaca Holdings is buying dating app Bumble for one point three billion dollars, taking over the loss-making company from its current owners.

New leadership and founder's role

Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman will become co-chief executives. Founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, who launched Bumble twelve years ago, said she would remain actively involved with the business.

Women-first rule abandoned

Bumble ditched its signature women-first chat rule in August this year, a feature that once differentiated it from rivals by allowing only women to initiate conversations.

New owners' vision for AI

Gupta and Hegeman said they want to use technology to renew and accelerate businesses in a world transformed by AI. They called the investment a bet on the future of humanity.

“Technology should work in service of our deepest source of fulfillment, human connection and this investment is a bet on the future of humanity.”

Bumble's financial struggles

Bumble's share price soared on the deal news, lifting its valuation to over five hundred eighty million dollars.

Losses and AI integration

Since going public, Bumble made an annual pre-tax profit only once, in two thousand twenty-three. In the following two years it reported steep losses while incorporating new AI technology into its app.