# Bumble sold for $1.3bn after ditching women-first rule

> Investment firm Ithaca Holdings buys the loss-making dating app as it abandons the feature that once set it apart.
- Title: Bumble sold for $1.3bn after ditching women-first rule
- Summary: Investment firm Ithaca Holdings buys the loss-making dating app as it abandons the feature that once set it apart. Ithaca Holdings bought Bumble for one…
- Keywords: bumble, ithaca holdings, dating apps, acquisition, whitney wolfe herd, ai technology, news, world, sold, 3bn, ditching, women-first
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm9qzwjgnjxlo
- Published: 2026-10-13T01:36:36.784+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: bumble, ithaca holdings, dating apps, acquisition, whitney wolfe herd, ai technology, news, world
## 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.
## Key takeaway

Ithaca Holdings bought Bumble for one point three billion dollars, taking over the loss-making app months after it scrapped its signature women-first messaging rule.