Match Group invests $100M in Sniffies, plotting a Hinge-style acquisition in the LGBTQ+ market: report — TFN

Match Group has invested $100 million in Sniffies, a map-based platform for non-heterosexual males, experiences Bloomberg. The corporate now holds a minority stake and has the choice to amass the remaining shares sooner or later. Sniffies will hold working by itself with its present leaders.

Match Group has used this minority-first strategy earlier than. It invested in Hinge in 2017, then purchased the entire firm in 2018. Since then, Hinge has develop into Match Group’s fastest-growing model and now has extra engagement amongst youthful customers than Tinder does.

The Sniffies deal follows the identical construction: a minority stake, founder independence, and an acquisition possibility. This exhibits Match Group sees Sniffies as a possible full acquisition relatively than only a portfolio addition. With $3.487 billion in 2025 revenue and $1 billion in free money movement, Match Group is well-positioned to behave on this selection.

Sniffies was based by Blake Gallagher, who continues to be the CEO. The platform has about 3 million month-to-month lively customers worldwide and sees over 20 million messages despatched every day. Its attain goes past the app, with well-liked clothes, world occasions, and the award-winning Cruising Confessions podcast.

Grindr, Sniffies’ important competitor, ended talks for a $3.46 billion take-private deal in 2025 resulting from financing points, in accordance with Reuters. There isn’t a clear chief within the LGBTQ+ males’s courting market, and Match Group needs to fill that hole. Grindr has many social options, whereas Sniffies focuses on real-time location and intent.

Though the 2 platforms have some similarities, they serve completely different wants. Sniffies is barely accessible on the net, which limits its attain but in addition retains it secure from App Retailer content material guidelines.

The Sniffies funding supplies Match Group with a quickly rising and extremely engaged platform within the GBTQ males’s market, a section the place its present portfolio has restricted presence.