The company behind Tinder, Match.com, and Hinge, Match Group is scaling back its investment in the metaverse, citing economic uncertainty.
Bernard Kim, Match Group’s CEO and Board Director, addressed shareholders, highlighting earnings in the second quarter of 2022.
Kim stated that he had to scale back on metaverse ambitions while announcing the departure of Tinder CEO Renate Nyborg, who became the dating app’s first female CEO just last September.
Tinder acquired Hyperconnect last year, which focuses on video, AI, and augmented reality technology. Its avatar-based “Single Town” experience was to be a way for Tinder’s users to meet and interact in the future.
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Kim observed, “I believe a metaverse dating experience is important to capture the next generation of users, and Hyperconnect has been innovating in this area. However, given uncertainty about the ultimate contours of the metaverse and what will or won’t work, as well as the more challenging operating environment, I’ve instructed the Hyperconnect team to iterate but not invest heavily in metaverse at this time.”
