FOLLOW US

Bumble, a female-centered dating app, is making plans for an initial public offering (IPO) as early as the first quarter of 2021. It is reportedly working closely with Goldman Sachs and Citigroup on the listing with additional support from Morgan Stanley

Whitney Wolfe Herd founded Bumble in 2014. Since then, it has rapidly risen to the status of a revered dating app that puts women in the driver's seat where they can choose whether to initiate a conversation with male users.

In addition, Bumble offers social and professional networking services to users. Currently, the company owns Badoo, another popular digital dating application outside of the U.S.

This wouldn't be the first time Bumble tried to make waves in the dating app space, which has become increasingly crowded over the years with the inception of Tinder, OkCupid, and other apps. In 2018, the company began offering its services in India, a move many felt was poorly made as India is a hotspot for sexual violence.

"The most traditional, the most misogynistic mindsets globally — those markets for us are completely wide-open prairies. Just because something is not as progressive as another place in the world doesn't mean there's not a desire for that," Wolfe Herd told CNN Business regarding the India launch.

Wolfe Herd also targeted other markets in Asia, Europe, and Central America, signaling Bumble's continued global outreach efforts. Contrary to popular belief, usage of digital dating apps has increased markedly since the COVID-19 pandemic. Messaging via the Bumble app increased by 26% during the initial months of the pandemic.

Of course, a Bumble IPO could be pushed off to later in 2021 as we approach December and markets continue to move in unpredictable directions.

----------------------------------------

Have a story you want USA Herald to cover? Submit a tip here and if we think it's newsworthy, we'll follow up on it.

Want to contribute a story? We also accept article submissions – check out our writer's guidelines here.