Skip to main content

The context you need, when you need it

When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters — and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. But we can’t do it on our own.

We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today?

Join now

As Expected, Tinder Buys Humin to Goose Better Relationships

A deal to give the popular dating app some more tech.

Humin via Vimeo

As Re/code previously reported it would, Tinder has officially acquired contact management startup Humin.

The Los Angeles-based dating app is buying the technology and intellectual property of the San Francisco company, as well as hiring the top execs at Humin, although not all its employees. Co-founders Ankur Jain and David Wyler will become Tinder’s VP of product and partnerships, respectively, and most Humin engineers will be offered jobs.

Neither company would say how much Tinder paid in the deal, but it seems the technology is the most attractive aspect of it. Humin’s products include a contacts app, as well as a connection service called Knock Knock.

While never publicly disclosed, the well-connected Jain (son of prominent Silicon Valley entrepreneur Naveen Jain) managed to tap his tony network to raise $15 million in three rounds. While some venture firms were in the mix, that was largely from high-profile individual investors such as Eric Schmidt, Richard Branson, Ari Emanuel, Troy Carter, Kevin Spacey, Will.i.am and even Jeb Bush Jr.

But the startup failed to gain traction and had recently lost some staffers, including its product head Arielle Zuckerberg. So, given the contracting funding environment, this landing is probably a good move, as well as being inevitable.

“We’re excited to leverage their experience and IP to accelerate our product roadmap along with some other exciting projects we have in the works,” said Tinder CEO Sean Rad.

Last week, Re/code reported that Tinder was in discussions with Humin. The strategic acquisition comes as Tinder added to its management team last week. That included the hiring of Maria Zhang, a prominent engineering exec from Yahoo.

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

More in Technology

Podcasts
Are humanoid robots all hype?Are humanoid robots all hype?
Podcast
Podcasts

AI is making them better — but they’re not going to be doing your chores anytime soon.

By Avishay Artsy and Sean Rameswaram
Future Perfect
The old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemicThe old tech that could help stop the next airborne pandemic
Future Perfect

Glycol vapors, explained.

By Shayna Korol
Future Perfect
Elon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wantsElon Musk could lose his case against OpenAI — and still get what he wants
Future Perfect

It’s not about who wins. It’s about the dirty laundry you air along the way.

By Sara Herschander
Life
Why banning kids from AI isn’t the answerWhy banning kids from AI isn’t the answer
Life

What kids really need in the age of artificial intelligence.

By Anna North
Culture
Anthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque messAnthropic owes authors $1.5B for pirating work — but the claims process is a Kafkaesque mess
Culture

“Your AI monster ate all our work. Now you’re trying to pay us off with this piece of garbage that doesn’t work.”

By Constance Grady
Future Perfect
Some deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapySome deaf children are hearing again because of a new gene therapy
Future Perfect

A medical field that almost died is quietly fixing one disease at a time.

By Bryan Walsh