– USA, NY – Hinge, the social network for dating, today announces $12M in Series A funding, bringing total committed capital to over $20M. The round was led by Shasta Ventures, and included participation from previous investors Lowercase, Great Oaks, Eniac, and CAA Ventures.
Hinge was founded with the mission to keep dating real. The app blends the best of meeting in the real world, with the power of social discovery. The result is an experience that feels much like meeting serendipitously through friends at a dinner party – but on your phone.
“I was never interested in joining a traditional dating website. The whole thing felt forced and unnatural to me,” says Justin McLeod, Founder and CEO of Hinge. “We’ve created a smarter, simpler way to connect with the people you might have eventually met through friends. We’re excited to have the support of Shasta and our other investors as we expand to a broader market and continue to focus on delivering a stand-out user experience.”
Hinge announces this funding on the heels of tremendous momentum. The app has grown 5X in active users this year and launched 24 new markets. Further, 95% of growth is occurring organically, through word-of-mouth. The average user has about 50 Facebook friends also on Hinge, which is 10% of their total friend network.
Hinge will use the funding to grow its development team, improve the product and scale the app into new markets. Further, the company has brought on a new addition to the team, VP of Engineering, Eric Bogs, to lead these efforts. Previously, Bogs was the Director of Engineering of Spotify’s social division.
“Hinge’s trust and transparency are changing the landscape of the dating industry in much the same way Facebook did to social networking in the age of MySpace.” says Tod Francis, the partner at Shasta who led the deal. “We are big believers in the natural, genuine approach Hinge is taking to one of the most important aspects of people’s lives – dating – and we are thrilled to partner with Justin and the team.”
Francis will be joining the board alongside McLeod, Andy Dunn, partner at Red Swan and Founder and CEO of Bonobos, and Bill Lomicka, original investor and chairman of Coulter Ridge Capital.
About Hinge
We believe in keeping things real. That’s why we’re bringing dating back to reality with an experience that mirrors the best of real life. Hinge helps you meet real people, through your real friends – every day. By introducing trust and transparency through social, Hinge is shaking up the dating landscape and has attracted investors such as Shasta Ventures, FoundersFund, Lowercase Capital, Social+ Capital, Great Oaks and Red Swan. Launched in DC in 2013, the company is now located in NYC’s Flatiron district.
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