Leading gay dating (and 'social networking') app Grindr made headlines when it sold a controlling stake to Chinese online gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech two days ago – the move marks the California business' first outside investment. Kunlun's chairman Zhou Yahui made some major ¥¥¥ by listing his company on the Shenzhen stock exchange last year, and now is the proud owner of a 60 percent stake in the location-based hook up app.
In a statement to the press, Zhou said: 'We have been very impressed by Grindr’s progress to date and are extremely excited about the future of the company. We will continue to seek out and invest in high-quality technology companies led by top-tier management across the globe.'
How the spend – reported to be 93 million USD – will play out in China remains to be seen. The market here is currently led by local app Blued with more than 22 million users worldwide. In fact, Chinese users currently do not even rank in Grindr's top ten countries, although the company has recently been undertaking initiatives to raise the app's profile here, such as a partnership with a Beijing-based sexual health organisation. It is more active among foreign users – especially as rival Tinder is blocked by censors thanks to its Facebook tie in.
Grindr's CEO, the improbably surnamed Carter McJunkin, did reveal to the New York Times that the company's team, structure and operations were likely to remain largely the same, so we're unlikely to see it as a serious contender to Blued's crown for a while yet.