Match Group invests $100M in Sniffies, a cruising app for gay men
Match Group invests $100M in Sniffies, a cruising app for gay men
Match Group 向男同性恋约会应用 Sniffies 投资 1 亿美元
Match Group, the dating app behemoth that owns Match, Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, says that it has invested $100 million in yet another mobile service designed to bring people together: a Grindr competitor known as Sniffies. 拥有 Match、Tinder、OkCupid 和 Hinge 等约会应用巨头的 Match Group 表示，已向另一款旨在促进人际交往的移动服务投资 1 亿美元，该服务是 Grindr 的竞争对手，名为 Sniffies。
The website for Sniffies sports various images of men in their underwear. That tells you pretty much all you need to know about the app, which is a self-proclaimed “cruising”— or hookup — matching service for gay men. The app includes what it calls a “real-time, fully interactive map of nearby Cruisers and popular local cruising spots.” Sniffies 的网站上展示了各种身着内衣的男性图片。这基本上让你了解了该应用的核心——它自称为一项面向男同性恋者的“巡游”（cruising）或约炮匹配服务。该应用包含其所谓的“实时、完全交互式的地图，可显示附近的巡游者和当地热门的巡游地点”。
“From the first time I met the Sniffies team a year ago, it was clear they had a deep understanding of their users and a strong point of view on how its community actually connects,” said Spencer Rascoff, chief executive officer of Match Group, in a press release Monday. “从一年前我第一次见到 Sniffies 团队起，就很明显他们对用户有着深刻的理解，并且对于其社区如何进行实际连接有着独特的见解，”Match Group 首席执行官 Spencer Rascoff 在周一的新闻稿中表示。
Sniffies, based in Seattle, has an estimated 3 million monthly active users, Match says. The company will continue to operate independently, with Match Group assisting the team’s “vision and growth,” it said. Match 表示，总部位于西雅图的 Sniffies 估计拥有 300 万月活跃用户。该公司将继续独立运营，Match Group 将协助该团队实现其“愿景和增长”。
Match Group has struggled in recent years as Americans have suffered from dating app burnout and have continually expressed a desire to meet lovers the old-fashioned way — like bumping into each other at a bookstore or asking an attractive person for their phone number. In February, Match Group beat its Q4 estimates but reported declining user growth at flagship apps like Tinder. 近年来，Match Group 一直面临困境，因为美国用户对约会应用感到疲劳，并不断表达出以传统方式结识恋人的愿望——比如在书店偶遇，或者向心仪的人索要电话号码。今年 2 月，Match Group 的第四季度业绩超出了预期，但其旗舰应用（如 Tinder）的用户增长却出现了下滑。