The (Wrong) Price of Hooking Up: Viral Dating App Tinder Isn't Valued at $5 Billion After All
Swipe right for mega money. Or not. Tinder almost just hit the hottie jackpot. Or so everyone thought, until...
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What a difference a zero makes.
So, yeah, it turns out that Tinder isn't valued at $5 billion after all. Try $500 million.
Bloomberg, which originally reported the $5 billion valuation number (which we reported on as well shortly after) flubbed up.
The news outlet said earlier today that Barry Diller's IAC/InterActiveCorp. paid $500 million from tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya for a 10 percent stake in the startup.
Well, that's just not so. Not according to Sam Yagan, CEO of IAC's Match Group, who moments ago told Forbes that the $5 billion valuation "is nowhere near the truth." Yagan did, however, confirm that IAC completed "a transaction" with Chamath.
Also according to Forbes, Tinder co-founder and CEO Sean Rad has reportedly said the report issued by Bloomberg was "meaningfully incorrect."
Chamath tweeted that his Tinder "sale for $500M is inaccurate" and hashtagged his tweet #wishfulthinking. He also thanked Yagan for providing clarification.
My Tinder sale for $500M is inaccurate. I sold my stake but value was much less. Thx @samyagan for official IAC pos'n. #wishfulthinking
— Chamath Palihapitiya (@chamath) April 11, 2014
ORIGINAL: You can't put a price on love, but you can on hooking up -- a big, juicy one. Try $5 billion. That's the rumored valuation of Tinder.
That's right. The sexy smash-hit matchmaking app that helps 10 million people hook up every day across the world is now reportedly valued at a mind-blowing $5 billion.
Related: Tinder Users Lured By Sexy Spam Bots Peddling 'Castle Clash' Game
Not bad for a free dating app, especially one that co-founder Sean Rad recently told us doesn't spend "a dollar on marketing and advertising" and "not a dime on user acquisition." Oh, and did we mention that Tinder hasn't recorded a cent in profit yet either?
Hookup seekers can't get enough of Tinder, celebrities like Ashton Kutcher and Lindsay Lohan included. Media mogul Barry Diller is hot for the app, too. According to Bloomberg, his company IAC/InterActiveCorp. forked over $500 million from tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Chamath Palihapitiya for another 10 percent of the 20-month-old West Hollywood-based startup.
If the rumors are true, the move cha-chings Tinder's value up to $5 billion in total.
We reached out to Tinder for confirmation, but a spokesperson said she had to "decline to comment at this time." Looks like we'll have to wonder for now.
Related: In Sochi, People Are Using Matchmaking App Tinder Like Crazy
