Grindr, a dating app primarily known for facilitating quick meet-ups among gay men, aims to focus more on dating and promote long-term relationships.

The company plans to introduce several new features aimed at better matching its users – primarily gay and bisexual men – with others who have similar intentions, whether for short-term sexual encounters or long-term relationships. The new features also include the use of AI to identify users with common interests.

This initiative comes at a time when the online dating market faces challenges. Growth has slowed, and the number of paying subscribers is decreasing as more users question the effectiveness of dating apps in creating serious connections. Match Group, the owner of Tinder and Hinge, has seen six consecutive quarters of decline in paying users, while Bumble is struggling to attract users for premium subscriptions.

Grindr serves a different market than most dating apps, focusing on same-sex relationships and casual dating, while other apps are primarily aimed at finding long-term partners and fostering connections between men and women.

We are uniquely positioned to support the dating experience," said CEO George Arison. "We have all the users. We just need to develop the features that make the dating experience much better.

Grindr has increased its number of users and revenue, performing better than others in this area. Grindr's shares have risen by 17% this year, while Match's shares have fallen by 17% and Bumble has lost nearly a third of its value.

On Wednesday, shortly before its first Investor Day, Grindr raised its revenue forecast for the year to at least 25% growth, up from at least 23% growth previously. It also forecasted an annual revenue growth of 20% to 25% through 2027, which would equate to about $600 million in 2027, compared to around $260 million in 2023.

Grindr introduces these changes to meet a common user request. According to the company, a little more than half of the users are looking for stable, long-term relationships.

Arison sees the development of Grindr similar to the changes at Uber Technologies, which added food delivery, rental cars, and package pickups to its ride services. Through Grindr's grid format – which differs from the swipe features of most dating apps – users can filter their intentions in one place.

That is the kind of experience we want to create, where everything is in one place, but with different clicks of a button, you can segment into the desired experiences," said Arison.

Grindr's efforts to facilitate long-term dating and other connections include eight products intended to clarify a user's intentions. One of these products will be an AI-powered dating "wingman" that helps users create their profiles, find potential matches, and start conversations. The wingman will be tested with users by the end of the year and is expected to be widely available by 2027.

Here is the translated heading:

"Further products will enable users to highlight their profile more prominently, signal strong interest in another user, and gain insights into compatibility. Some of these measures have already begun testing and are expected to be widely introduced by 2025, similar to certain measures by Match and Bumble.

Arison said he urged the teams to create an AI-based dating experience that doesn't currently exist but could in two years.

We should be an AI-based company because people will expect it in 12 to 24 months when these features actually hit the market," he said.