Dating app Bumble in advanced talks to go private at $1 billion valuation, source says

Oct 12 — Bumble is in advanced talks to be taken private by ​Ithaca Holdings in a deal valuing the dating app operator at roughly $1 billion, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Monday.

Shares of the ‌Austin, Texas-based company closed around 50% higher on Monday at $3.80, marking their biggest-ever percentage gain in a single ⁠session. The company had a market value ​of roughly $389 million at Friday's close.

Bumble and ⁠Ithaca, a holding company for technology businesses founded by Silicon Valley executives Ravi ‌Gupta and John Hegeman, did ‌not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Reuters exclusively reported earlier this ⁠year that Bumble was exploring a sale amid ⁠slowing growth in the online dating sector.

Dating apps such as Bumble and its larger rival Match Group, which owns Tinder and Hinge, have come under pressure as younger Gen Z subscribers grow disillusioned with endless swiping, leading to softer user engagement.

"Going private looks less like a strategic masterstroke and more like an ‌admission that Bumble's current strategy is failing," said PP Foresight ​analyst Paolo Pescatore. "A change in ownership will not magically fix these fundamental problems."

Founded in 2014 by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble pioneered the "women-first" approach to online dating. But after its $14 billion blockbuster Nasdaq debut in 2021, the company has struggled with a post-pandemic slowdown in growth.

Under Wolfe Herd, who returned to the CEO role in March last year after stepping down in January 2024, Bumble has ​rolled out AI-powered features and new ways for users to connect as it works to reinvigorate ‌growth.

Total paying users ‌for Bumble fell ⁠more than 11% to about 3.7 million in 2025, while annual revenue declined nearly 10% to about $966 million.

In the second quarter ended June 30, total paying users decreased 16.4% to 3.2 million.

"AI is not going to be the silver bullet, nor is another ‌round of cost-cutting... Bumble desperately ​needs to give consumers a compelling reason to ‌return and, more importantly, ⁠pay," Pescatore said.

(Reporting ​by Milana Vinn in New York and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Jonathan Ananda and ​Shilpi Majumdar)

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