*By Alex Heath*
Tinder’s business is exploding.
The dating app is on track to generate $800 million in revenue this year, its parent company Match Group said this week.
That’s double what Tinder brought in for 2017, and with a profit margin greater than 40 percent, the app is set to make roughly $320 million in profit this year.
Tinder makes money through its two subscription plans, Tinder Plus and Tinder Gold. The pricing for both plans is variable, depending on where in the world subscribers live and their age. Earlier this year, a California appeals court ruled against Tinder in an age-discrimination lawsuit for charging users older than 30 double what it charges younger subscribers.
As Facebook is planning to release its own dating features, Tinder is quickly adding new features. The app aims to appeal to its core millennial audience with a feature for connecting college students that should be available in the coming weeks.
Spain's government has fined Airbnb 64 million euros or $75 million for advertising unlicensed tourist rentals. The consumer rights ministry announced the fine on Monday. The ministry stated that many listings lacked proper license numbers or included incorrect information. The move is part of Spain's ongoing efforts to regulate short-term rental companies amid a housing affordability crisis especially in popular urban areas. The ministry ordered Airbnb in May to remove around 65,000 listings for similar violations. The government's consumer rights minister emphasized the impact on families struggling with housing. Airbnb said it plans to challenge the fine in court.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
