Chinese Gaming Company Buys Major Stake in Grindr

The popular gay dating app Grindr announced Monday it sold a majority stake to a Chinese gaming company, the New York Times reports.

Beijing Kunlun Tech Company, a Chinese gaming company, will acquire 60 percent of Grindr, which is valued at $155 million. The remainder of the app's stake will be owned by Grindr's employees and the company's founder, Joel Simkhai. The Times reports Grindr has never released its capital from outside investors.

"We have users in every country in the world, but in order to get to the next phase of our business and grow faster, we needed a partner," Carter McJunkin, chief operating officer of Grindr, told the Times.

McJunkin added the partnership "made sense for Grindr because of Beijing Kunlun's digital expertise, and its agreement to let Grindr's founders continue its operating structure and retain its current team," the Times writes.

"We have been very impressed by Grindr's progress to date and are extremely excited about the future of the company," Yahui Zhou, chairman of Kunlun, said in a statement. "We will continue to seek out and invest in high-quality technology companies led by top-tier management across the globe."

The news comes about a month after it was reported PR Consulting, one of the biggest fashion public relations companies, picked up Grindr as a client. PR Consulting represents major fashion houses like Dior, Rick Owens and Versace.

Grindr was founded in 2009 by Simkhai. The app has since become popular within the gay community. The app is currently available in 192 countries and has 5 million users.