US-based online dating site operator Dating.com Group has launched a $50m corporate venture capital fund, Global Dating Insights has reported.
Dating.com was formed in October 2019 through the merger of investment manager SDVentures’ dating assets and online entertainment group SOL Holdings. It runs a stable of online dating platforms with a total of more than 73 million registered users.
The fund has not yet been named but it will invest up to $5m per deal, funding companies at seed to series B stage.
Dmitry Volkov, founder of SDVentures Dating.com, said: “Over the last three years, 53 companies in the dating space have raised investment rounds totalling $230m from a total of 134 VCs.
“We believe we can leverage our expertise to find and support the next generation of global dating projects with great success and are excited to announce this fund.”
The fund’s first portfolio company is S’More, a US-based, relationship-focused dating app that received $1.1m in a November 2019 seed round led by Benson Oak Ventures that included Dmitry Volkov in addition to fellow angel investor Joshua Black and SideCar Angels.
Dating.com’s last deal had been the acquisition of South Asian-focused dating app developer Dil Mil, for $250m in cash and shares in November 2019.
