Grindr
In short: Grindr Inc. (NYSE: GRND) runs Grindr, a location-based social and dating app for gay, bisexual, trans and queer people. Joel Simkhai founded it in Los Angeles in 2009. After a period under Chinese owner Kunlun Tech, it was sold to San Vicente Acquisition in 2020, and it listed through a SPAC merger in November 2022. It is headquartered in West Hollywood, California, and George Arison is chairman and chief executive.
Key facts
| Type | Dating platform |
|---|---|
| Listed | GRND |
| Headquarters | USA |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Apps and brands | Grindr, Woodwork |
| Website | grindr.com |
| LinkedIn profile |
People
- AJ Balance, Chief Product Officer
- Benjamin Cooper, Director of Consumer Content
- Chad Cohen, Board Director & Audit Committee Chair
- George Arison, CEO
- J. Michael Gearon Jr., Lead Independent Director
- James Fu Bin Lu, Controlling shareholder
- John North, Chief Financial Officer
- Nathan Richardson, Board Director
- Ray Zage, Director and major shareholder
- Tristan Pineiro, Chief Marketing Officer
- Zac Katz, Chief Legal Officer & Head of Global Affairs
Apps and brands
Timeline
Deals
| Date | Type | Parties | Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 October 2026 | Acquisition | Grindr: Bought PurposeMed, owner of Freddie | Up to $320M |
Stories about Grindr
- Grindr appoints SAMY agency of record for global influencer marketing
Grindr named SAMY agency of record for US and global influencer marketing and its Latin America social agency after a pitch, a release dated 22 October said. - Grindr director Zage sells 500,000 shares worth about $7.06M
Grindr director and 10% owner George Raymond Zage III sold 500,000 shares on 16 and 19 October under a 10b5-1 plan, about $7.06M by DII's calculation. - Grindr's $320M Healthcare Bet: Vertical Integration or Privacy Gamble?
Grindr is buying PurposeMed, parent of telehealth provider Freddie, for $320 million, adding PrEP and STI testing to its app as Grindr Health. - Grindr's Experiential Marketing: Monetizing Brand Discomfort
Grindr's ad revenue reached $73.6 million in 2024, up 37%, according to company disclosures, as it shifts spend into live events. - Grindr's $3M Revenue Per Employee: Efficiency or Risk?
Grindr generates approximately $3 million in revenue per employee, behind only Nvidia among major US tech firms, according to recent data analysis. - Grindr's £26M Settlement: A Manageable Cost for Privacy Breaches
Grindr will pay £26 million to settle a UK class action over alleged sharing of HIV status and other sensitive data with analytics firms. - Grindr's $499 Bet: Can Luxury Tiers Solve Its Conversion Crisis?
Grindr is launching Edge, an AI concierge tier costing up to $499.99 per month, as only 9% of its 15 million monthly active users pay. - Grindr's AI Productivity Claim: A 200-Engineer Mirage?
Grindr says AI lifted engineering output 2.5-3.5x since mid-2024 with flat headcount, worth about $60 million a year, but it gave no quality metrics. - Grindr's AI Narrative: Investor Hype or Product Reality?
Grindr's Q2 2026 revenue rose 33% to $138.1M and net income reached $17.7M, but its AI product Edge is still in limited testing. - Grindr's 16% Surge: A Niche Triumph or Morgan Stanley's Misstep?
Grindr shares jumped 16% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight, citing its product pipeline and expansion plans. - Grindr's Super-App Ambitions: Community Building or Mission Creep?
Grindr, with 15 million users, is expanding into health, events and culture under CEO George Arison. The story calls it mission creep, bar health services. - Grindr's Alleged Data Breach: The Trust Deficit Is the Real Crisis
A seller claims to be selling 15 million Grindr user records, including HIV test data, on the dark web. Grindr says it found no evidence. - Grindr's 'Authenticity' Survey vs. Thirst Trap Reality: A Data Dissonance
A Grindr-commissioned survey says 83% of UK users prefer profile photos showing personality, released alongside its Pride 'Thirst Trap Boot Camp'. - Grindr's 'Bussy' Tour: A Bold Bet on Offline Engagement Amid App Fatigue
Grindr's 'Bussy' tour will visit London, Cannes, Amsterdam, Brighton and Madrid in 2026, its third year globally and second in Europe. - Grindr's $130M Quarter: Monopoly Power or Lasting Moat?
Grindr's Q1 revenue reached $130 million, up 38% year-on-year, and it raised full-year guidance to $535 million as Match backs rival Sniffies. - Grindr's Q1 Results: A Wake-Up Call for Match Group's Scale Obsession
Grindr posted $129.94 million in Q1 2026 revenue, up 38%, with a 45% adjusted EBITDA margin, and raised full-year revenue guidance above $528 million. - Grindr's Madonna Move: A Test of Ad Revenue Over User Trust
Grindr is running a Madonna campaign for Confessions II in its app, testing ad revenue beyond subscriptions across 14 million monthly active users. - Grindr's Chemsex Initiative: Community Health or Brand Play?
Grindr has launched an in-app content series on chemsex and drug addiction, working with peer-support groups on harm reduction resources. - Grindr's White House Soiree: Advocacy or Access Theatre?
Grindr will host its first official White House Correspondents' Dinner side event on 25th April 2026, amid proposed cuts to HIV prevention programmes. - Grindr's AI Claims: Revenue Diversification or Genuine Innovation?
Grindr plans an 'AI-native' app by 2026 with hotel bookings and a health marketplace, as its CEO claims AI writes 70% of its code. - Grindr's Olympic Safety Protocols: A Necessary Revenue Sacrifice
Grindr has disabled distance-based tracking in Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic athlete villages and replaced third-party ads with safety messaging. - Grindr's AI Subscription: A Bold Bet on User Fatigue or a Misstep?
Grindr is testing a premium AI tier in beta with curated matches to cut scrolling, and says it will sit above the $50 monthly Unlimited tier. - Grindr Just Posted the Numbers Every Other Dating App Wishes It Had
Grindr reported Q4 revenue of $126M, up 29% year-over-year, beating estimates by $4M, and launched Edge, a premium AI subscription tier. - Malaysia Blocks Grindr and Blued. The Regulatory Risk GRND Investors Keep Ignoring.
Malaysia's MCMC has blocked Grindr and Blued in the first named ban on Western dating apps in Southeast Asia, setting a regional precedent. - Grindr's $499 Subscription Is a Pricing Psychology Experiment with Real ARPU Upside
Grindr is piloting an AI subscription tier called EDGE at up to $499 per month, with randomised pricing, in Australia and New Zealand first. - Grindr's Olympic Safety Protocol Is a Temporary Fix for a Permanent Problem
Grindr will disable location features in the Olympic Village at Milano Cortina 2026, from 6 to 22 February, its third Olympics with such measures. - Grindr Backs GOP Age Verification Bill. LGBTQ+ Allies Cry Foul.
Grindr has backed the App Store Accountability Act, which would require Apple and Google to verify ages in their app stores. LGBTQ+ groups oppose it. - Grindr's Buyout Collapse: A Reality Check for Dating App Valuations
Grindr's board ended a $3.46 billion take-private bid on 24 November 2025 after Ray Zage and James Lu failed to show financing. Shares fell 10.6%. - Grindr's Fashion Show Built Cultural Capital. Whether That Moves Subscribers Is the Only Question That Matters.
Grindr presented a 36-piece fashion collection with Rainbow Wool, using wool from rescued rams, as its EBITDA margin hit 39.4% in Q3 2024. - Grindr's $3B Private Bid: A Forced Sale, Not Strategic Optionality
Grindr is in talks to go private at a roughly $3 billion valuation after lender Fullerton Financial Holdings seized shares from its majority owners.
Also mentioned in
- CNN says Bumble, Grindr and Hinge are bringing AI into dating
- Bumble agrees $1.3B sale to Ithaca Holdings at $6.05 a share
- Microsoft's Xandr fined NOK 92M by Norway over Grindr user data
- ODDA launches consumer safety panel of 12 to 16 people for dating apps
- Feeld revenue rises 32% to £64M as pre-tax profit hits £11.4M
- Grindr's PrEP Move: Healthcare Innovation or Subscription Play?
- Lora's Bet: Astrology Over Algorithms in Dating's Next Wave
- Match Group's Japan Bet: Pairs Over Tinder for Revenue Growth
- DOWN's Fake Ticket Stunt: A Masterclass in Irresponsible Marketing
- Romance Scam Prevention Act: A Compliance Burden or a Trust Opportunity?
- AI Companions Are Replacing Real Dates for Lonely Men. That's a Problem for Dating Apps.
- EU's Kids Act: Age Verification Becomes a Costly Mandate for Dating Apps
- Match's Singles Study: Optimism Abounds, But Action Lags
- Blackstone's Bumble Exit: A Masterclass in PE Timing
- UK's Hash Matching Mandate: A Compliance Crunch for Dating Apps
- Match and Bumble's AI Dreams Clash with Europe's Data Reality
- Match Group's $650K Settlement: A Reality Check on Safety Theatre
- Dating Apps' Real Value: Expanding Options, Not Predicting Love
- New Zealand's Age Ban: A Costly Compliance for Dating Apps
- Alex Lynn's £100k Bet on Pacer: Sports App or Dating Trojan Horse?
- Appflame's IPO Ambition: Discipline or Delusion in a Fatigued Market?
- Goose Loses Its Face: Derek Chadwick's Exit Exposes a Structural Flaw
- Mattr's 'Pitch My Queer Bestie' Event: Social Proof as Product Strategy
- Bumble's Women-First Rule Is Gone. Was It Ever About Empowerment?
- Dating Apps Shrink Age Gaps: A Product Design Reckoning
Questions about Grindr
What does Grindr do?
Grindr Inc. (NYSE: GRND) runs Grindr, a location-based social and dating app for gay, bisexual, trans and queer people. Joel Simkhai founded it in Los Angeles in 2009. After a period under Chinese owner Kunlun Tech, it was sold to San Vicente Acquisition in 2020, and it listed through a SPAC merger in November 2022.
Where is Grindr based?
Grindr is based in USA.
When was Grindr founded?
Grindr was founded in 2009.
Which apps does Grindr own?
DII's directory lists Grindr, Woodwork.
What is Grindr's latest deal?
Acquisition: Bought PurposeMed, owner of Freddie, Up to $320M, 1 October 2026.
Also known as: Grindr (GRND), GRND.