Match Group owns the Tinder dating app. Match Group is an American technology company that operates online dating services. Match Group itself is a subsidiary of InterActiveCorp (IAC), though it operates as a separate entity with its own board of directors and management team. The company’s headquarters are in Dallas, Texas, USA. A few other dating services in Match Group’s portfolio include Hinge, OkCupid, and Match.com. While IAC is the parent company of Match Group, it doesn’t have 100% ownership of Match Group or Tinder. Match Group became a publicly traded company in 2015, allowing some investors to own a significant percentage of the company.
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Brief History of Tinder
In 2012, Sean Rad, Justin Mateen, and Jonathan Badeen founded Tinder. The three co-founders were students at the University of Southern California in 2012. At that time, they were working on a platform that allowed businesses to send gift cards to their customers. However, they discovered that those who viewed gift cards focused on pictures of people on gift cards rather than the information on the card. As a result, they decided to create a dating app that focuses on users’ pictures. At first, they named their new dating app “Matchbox,” but they eventually changed the name to Tinder.
They launched the beta version of the Tinder app in September 2012. The beta version could work only on iOS devices at that time. The Tinder app became available on Android devices later in November 2012. The app quickly became popular, especially among college students. The co-founders kept improving the app’s features and interface. In 2014, they introduced Tinder Plus, a paid subscription with a few additional premium features.
Brief History of Tinder’s Co-founders
Sean Rad
Sean Rad is an entrepreneur. He was born in Los Angeles, California. He received a degree in Business Administration and a concentration in Entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California. Rad founded a few companies when he was in college. He served as the CEO of tinder after he co-founded it together with Justin Mateen and Jonathan Badeen in 2012. In 2016, he stepped down as CEO of Tinder, though he returned in August 2017 and served as CEO till December 2018, when he stepped down as CEO again. He is a philanthropist and has engaged himself in a number of philanthropist efforts.
Justin Mateen
Justin Mateen is an entrepreneur who studied International Relations at the University of Southern California. Justin Mateen served as the Chief Marketing Officer and CMO of Tinder after it was founded. However, Mateen eventually left the company in 2014 over some controversies and allegations of sexual discrimination and harassment. He founded a few other companies after he left Tinder. He is also an advisor to some innovative tech companies.
Jonathan Badeen
Jonathan Badeen is a software developer and entrepreneur. He was born in Atlanta, Georgia. Badeen studied computer science at the University of Southern California. He worked as a software engineer in various tech companies after he graduated from school. Badeen served as the Vice President of Products while he worked at Tinder.
Role of Match Group in Tinder’s Operations
Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, contributes to the success of Tinder by performing the following roles:
Provides Technical Support
Match Group provides technical support such as database management and server hosting. Match Group also includes analytics tools and services to help Tinder understand how users interact with the app and improve its services based on users’ behavior.
Manages Tinder’s Finance
Match Group manages Tinder’s finances. The company also helps Tinder develop monetization strategies to ensure that Tinder generates profits.
Match Group’s IPO
Match Group became a publicly traded company on 19 November 2015 on NASDAQ Global Select Market. Each share cost $12 at that time, and the company sold 33.3 million shares, generating $400 million. The stock’s price increased by over 20% on the same day it first became available for trading. Currently, each Match Group’s stock trades above $40.
Top Shareholders of Match Group
It’s important to note that top shareholders of Match Group own a significant part of the company. Hence, they own, a significant part of Tinder also. Here are the top shareholders of Match Group:
BlackRock, Inc.
BlackRock, Inc., holds 12.12% of Match Group shares, worth about $1.47 billion. BlackRock, Inc is a multinational investment company in New York City. It is the largest asset manager in the world, with about $10 trillion worth of assets as of January 2022. The company actively encourages investors to evaluate how their investments affect the environment and society.
Vanguard Group, Inc.
The Vanguard Group, Inc., holds 11.06%% of Match Group shares, worth about $1.35 billion. Vanguard Group, Inc is a registered investment advisor in Malvern, Pennsylvania, having approximately $7 trillion in global assets under its management as of January 13, 2021. The Vanguard Group, Inc., is currently the largest provider of mutual funds worldwide
Edgewood Management Company
Edgewood Management Company holds 5.69% of Match Group shares, worth about $692.8 million. Edgewood Management Company is an investment firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut. As of 2021, the company manages over $19 billion in assets.
Price (T. Rowe) Associates, Inc.
Price (T. Rowe) Associates, Inc., holds 4.34% of Match Group shares worth about $529 million. Price (T. Rowe) Associates Inc is a publicly traded asset management firm. As of 2020, the firm had $6.2 billion in assets under its management
State Street Corporation
State Street Corporation holds 4.27% of Match Group shares, worth about $520.9 million. State Street Corporation is a financial institution in Boston, Massachusetts. The company had more than $4.4 trillion in assets under its management as of December 31, 2021.
Conclusion
Tinder is now one of the most popular dating apps worldwide, with several millions of users in more than 190 countries. Match Group owns Tinder, but the ownership of Match Group itself spreads across various shareholders, rather than just a single individual or group.