France-based dating app developer Happn raised $14m yesterday in a series B round led by corporate-backed private equity firm Idinvest Partners.
IdInvest, which counts insurer Allianz, media group Lagardère and recruitment firm Up Group among its limited partners, was joined in the round by Alven Capital, DN Capital, Raine Ventures and angel investors including Fabrice Grinda, David Wolfson and Gil Penchina.
Happn has built a mobile dating app similar to Tinder, but based on proximity so that users can match with people they would be likely to encounter in real life.
The company currently has 6 million users spread across 25 cities across the world, and intends to strengthen its presence in Europe, South America and the US, and expand into Asia.
The round follows an $8m series A round closed by Happn in December 2014 that include Alven Capital, DN Capital and Fabrice Grinda.
Didier Rappaport, founder and chief executive of Happn, said: “We have experienced phenomenal global growth since launching last year, and we plan to continue expanding into more countries around the world.
“In addition to expansion into new markets, this new round of funding will also enable us to grow our team and enhance the user experience by building new functionalities that add to the current features that our members already enjoy.”