China dating app Tantan raises $70m Series D
Chinese mobile dating app Tantan has raised $70 million in a Series D round of funding led by US-listed live video streaming firm YY and Genesis Capital, with participation from SAIF Partners China and Zhongwei Capital.
Similar to US dating app Tinder, Tantan is a location-based social search platform that connects mutually interested users. While browsing other people’s profiles, a user can swipe right to like a particular profile, and if this is reciprocated a match, they can chat or have voice calls via Tantan’s in-app messaging tool.
Since its launch in 2014, Tantan has grown to 60 million verified registered users, of whom about six million are daily active users. It claims to be the largest social platform for people born after 1990, who account for more than 75% of total users. The male to female ratio of the user base is about 6:4, and the company said over three billion matches have been made through the app.
Previously, Tantan raised a Series A round from Bertelsmann Asia Investments (BAI) and Vision Plus Capital in 2015, and a Series B round from DCM Ventures, KPCB, GX Capital and LB Investment at the same time. DST Global, Vision Plus and LB Investment led a $ 32 million Series C last year.
Following the new investment, Tantan will keep improving its product to create a better user experience ahead of plans to monetize the user base by launching VIP membership services later this year, said Yu Wang, the company’s CEO. The company will also develop artificial intelligence technology in an effort to provide a more personalized social experience.
“Connecting strangers through social networking has huge untapped opportunities,” said Richard Peng, founder of Genesis Capital, who was formerly head of Tencent Holding’s investment unit. “We have great confidence in the Tantan team. They have acute insights and a deep understanding of mobile products, young people's behaviour and social networking. We believe Tantan will keep fast-growing and bring us a lot of surprises.”
China Renaissance acted as the financial advisor for Tantan’s latest round.
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