Dating giant Match Group announced several changes to its management team alongside disappointing second-quarter earnings. CEO Renate Nyborg revealed that heavy investment in virtual worlds will now take a back seat.
Tinder’s first foray into web3-related research and Metaverse development was previously envisioned by this executive. After acquiring Hyperconnect, a video AI and augmented reality company, last year, she launched her ambitious “Tinderverse” project. However, Bernard Kim, chief executive of its parent company, said the online dating app would be slowed down by “uncertainty” in the space.
Exit Metaverse and Web3
in a letter This week, Kim told shareholders that Tinder was able to achieve the monetization success it usually offers. To improve the overall product execution and speed of the application, executives instructed the team to carefully evaluate the web3 and metaverse spaces for more clarity.
“I believe that the Metaverse dating experience is important to attract the next generation of users, and Hyperconnect has been innovating in this area. However, given the uncertainty about the final contours of Metaverse and what will or will not work, and more Challenging operating environment, I have instructed the Hyperconnect team to iterate, but not make a significant investment in Metaverse at this time.”
The Tinder Coins program is another program the company plans to cancel. It first proposed the idea of a virtual currency in October 2021. The goal is to encourage users to spend more time swiping, scrolling, and spending real money on dating apps in the US.
The in-app currency is part of its effort to create an experience that goes beyond its traditional “swipe right” approach. The feature was subsequently soft-launched in February of this year.
Along with the decision to withdraw Tinder’s metaverse dating ambitions and drop plans to offer an in-app Tinder coin, the company’s first female CEO, Nyborg, has also left.
Tinder trouble
Kim attributed Tinder’s second-quarter results to “disappointing execution of multiple optimizations and new product initiatives.” Shares of the app fell 22%.
Its total revenue in the second quarter climbed 12% year over year to $795 million, while it posted an operating loss of $10 million due to impairments related to the Hyperconnect acquisition.
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