(Reuters) – stocks of Bumble Inc, backed by Blackstone Group Inc, soared significantly more than 76% inside their currency markets debut on Thursday, fetching a $14 billion valuation for the operator for the dating application where females result in the move that is first.
The company’s shares opened at $76 regarding the Nasdaq, well above its initial general public offering (IPO) cost of $43 per share. Austin, Texas-based Bumble runs two major apps, Bumble and Badoo, which touts over 40 million month-to-month active users global.
In a job interview on Thursday, Bumble leader Whitney Wolfe Herd stated the worldwide pandemic motivated visitors to develop a relationship and fulfill brand new individuals to their phones.
“People are building significant relationships digitally very first, after which the follows that are physical. This will be a really phenomenal change toward security and engineering more accountable experiences,” stated Wolfe Herd, whom expects the trend to keep in a post-COVID 19 world.
Bumble, unique among dating apps for the “women-first approach,” generates revenue mostly from premium subscriptions.