Dating app Bumble bought for $1.3 billion
Bumble has been bought by investment firm Ithaca Holdings for $1.3 billion, with its new owners promising to use technology and AI to revive the struggling dating app.
Dating app Bumble has been bought for $1.3 billion (£980 million) by investment firm Ithaca Holdings, in a deal its new owners described as "a bet on the future of humanity".
Ithaca directors Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman will become co-chief executives of the loss-making company, while founder Whitney Wolfe Herd will remain "actively involved" with the business she launched 12 years ago.
It is unclear what Wolfe Herd's role will be under the new ownership, although she said she would work closely with the buyers.
Gupta and Hegeman said they planned to use technology to "renew and accelerate businesses... in a world transformed by AI".
They said: "Technology should work in service of our deepest source of fulfillment, human connection and this investment is a bet on the future of humanity."
The comments come as the technology industry faces an increasingly heated debate over AI, with some experts warning that its rapid development could pose a threat to humanity.
Bumble's shares jumped as news of the acquisition emerged, lifting its market value above $580 million.
That remains well below the more than $14 billion valuation it reached after floating on the Nasdaq in 2021.
The company has struggled financially since going public, recording an annual pre-tax profit only once, in 2023.
It reported substantial losses in each of the following two years while investing in new technology, including AI.
Bumble has introduced several AI-powered features this year, including tools designed to help users improve their dating profiles.
The company's former chief executive Lidiane Jones told the BBC in 2024 that AI had "exciting potential" in dating, particularly around safety and helping younger users create profiles.
Bumble was founded in 2014 with a distinctive "women-first" approach that required women to initiate conversations with matches.
The company abandoned that rule in August, saying users wanted "more flexibility, less pressure, and more opportunities to create real, meaningful connections".
The move prompted debate over whether Bumble had surrendered one of the features that distinguished it from competitors.
The wider dating industry has also struggled as younger users become increasingly disillusioned with traditional dating apps.
Bumble announced in 2025 that it would cut almost a third of its workforce.
Rival Match Group, which owns Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid, has faced similar pressure, with its shares falling sharply from their 2021 peak.
Ofcom research published in 2025 also found that UK adults were spending less time on dating apps than three years earlier.
Some users have instead turned to offline activities such as book clubs, board-game groups and other social events in search of romance.
