On November 18, 2022, the popular LGBTQ+ app, Grindr, hit the New York Stock Exchange, soaring over 400%.
Grindr, under symbols “GRND” and “GRND.WS”, first announced its plan to go public in March of this year and appointed a Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer just 6 months later. The dating app also completed its merger with Tiga Acquisition Corp. At the time, the company was valued at $2.1 billion and the deal provided around $384 million to Grindr.
Grindr joins other dating apps on Wall Street, such as Bumble and Match Group, but is currently the only publicly traded app to cater to the LGBTQ+ community.
For those not familiar, Grindr is by far and above the most used dating app for LGBTQ+ individuals. With over 11 million daily users, it is have been proven to be a safe and welcoming community for folks to chat, find a sense of community, and even plan meetups on. Just like traditional dating apps, Grindr is free to use, but users may also upgrade their membership with a subscription to Grindr Unlimited which unlocks a variety of special features, such as incognito mode and the ability to unsend messages, or Grindr XTRA, which removes third-party ads and allows users to chat globally.
LGBTQ+ advocates have shared in the excitement of an exciting debut on the New York Stock Exchange. To celebrate, Grindr hosted a drag show outside of the Stock Exchange to represent just how far they’ve come. CEO, George Arison, went on record to praise the progress the LGBTQ+ community has made.
“It’s not something that would not have happened 20 years ago, probably wouldn’t have happened even 10 years ago.”
Grindr’s existence on Wall Street is sure to be something to watch in the future. The app entered the market at $16.90 and hit a high of $71.51 before lunchtime, according to MarketWatch. Things may have cooled down a bit, but the app still managed to close at $36.50. It will be interesting to see if the app can hold on to this impressive growth and market buzz.
Jennifer is a native Houstonian (go Astros!) with a knack for creating digital works of art. She has expansive experience creating content and branded collateral for Fortune 500 companies, as well as small local businesses. When she’s not buried in her laptop, Jennifer is the marketing director for a world championship circuit barbecue cook off team and pet mom to dog (Milo) and Guinea pig (Piggy Smalls).
