By Elias Schisgall

Match Group is investing $100 million in Sniffies, taking what it described as a substantial minority stake in the map-driven hookup website that caters to non-heterosexual men.

Match Group, which owns dating apps including Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid, said Monday that it has an option to acquire Sniffies' remaining equity in the future. The company will continue to run independently, it said.

"This reflects Match Group's focus on backing platforms with strong product-market fit that are authentic to their audience," the company said.

Sniffies, seen as a competitor to Grindr, provides a real-time map for users to connect with one another. It has grown to an estimated 3 million monthly active users globally, Match Group said.

"From the first time I met the Sniffies team a year ago, it was clear they had a deep understanding of their users and a strong point of view on how its community actually connects," Match Group Chief Executive Spencer Rascoff said. "There's also clear and growing demand in this space, and Sniffies feels genuinely different and authentic to its audience."

Write to Elias Schisgall at elias.schisgall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 27, 2026 17:07 ET (21:07 GMT)

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