Chinese startup Tantan, which is probably most comparable to Tinder, has raised $70 million in new capital as it looks to monetize its business for the first time and explore overseas expansion options.
Three-year-old Tantan claims 60 million ‘validated’ users — i.e. not fake accounts — of which six million are active on a daily basis. Of those active users, 75 percent are second-day return active. Impressively, it claims a 6:4 male/female ratio which is far higher than most dating apps thanks to a marketing focus on female users.
The funding — the startup’s Series D — was led by video social network YY and Genesis Capital, with participation from SAIF China and Zhongwei Capital. That’s particularly notable because YY is one of China’s more prominent live-streaming services, and already we have seen social networks like Momo (a fellow dating app) and microblogging service Weibo move into live-streaming with much financial success. While it is preparing to make money for the first time, Tantan isn’t planning a move into live-streaming at this point, however.
“There’s no promises or plan to do that, but if at some point we are interested, [YY] has…