Bumble has spent the past few years trying everything from a new CEO to AI-powered matches.
Now, the embattled dating app company is making another big move: going private.
Ithaca Holdings, a new firm run by former tech executives, is acquiring Bumble for $1.3 billion, the latter announced on Tuesday. Bumble’s board unanimously voted in favor of the deal, with founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd recusing herself from the decision.
News of a potential deal was first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
Bumble’s shareholders will receive $6.05 for each share of Class A Common Stock. According to Bumble, this is about 138% higher than its Friday, October 9, closing share price and around 119% over its 30-day weighted average price ending Friday.
The dating app company was valued at about $335 million at the end of business on Friday.
Ithaca’s co-CEOs and co-founders, Ravi Gupta and John Hegeman, will take over as co-CEOs of Bumble and “partner with Wolfe Herd to extend Bumble’s original vision to help people find connections in life and love into the next era.”
For anyone wondering what this arrangement might look like, this line in the announcement provides a pretty good idea: “Ithaca’s mission is to apply frontier technology to renew and accelerate businesses that enrich people’s lives and create lasting value in a world transformed by AI.”
Blackstone, which owns a stake in Bumble, has approved the deal.
Wolfe Herd sang Ithaca’s praises, stating, “In Ithaca, we have found a partner who shares our vision, believes in our women-first mission, and is committed to investing in Bumble’s future.”
Bumble’s journey as a public company
Bumble went public in February 2021, making founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd the youngest woman to take a company public or become a self-made billionaire. It was a success story.
However, in the five-plus years since, the company has struggled to stay relevant in a world that has grown increasingly tired of dating apps.
As of October 5, shares of Bumble Inc. (Nasdaq: BMBL) were down almost 95% from their opening high. The stock has had a relatively steady decline over its half a decade of trading.
That all changed on Monday when news broke of a potential sale. While still over $80 lower than its record high, Bumble’s shares closed up 49.61%. As of publication, the stock has been fluctuating close to 4% up during premarket trading.
Attempts to stay relevant in recent years
Dating apps of all shapes and sizes have faced a decline as Gen Z, in particular, moves away from online dating. Match Group-owned Hinge is a notable exception to the trend.
Wolfe Herd stepped down as CEO in January 2024, transitioning to the position of executive chair. Her successor, Lidiane Jones—a former Slack CEO—soon cut about 350 roles.
Jones’s tenure didn’t last very long, with Wolfe Herd returning as CEO in March 2025.
A few months later, Bumble cut another 240 positions, about 30% of its workforce. Shortly after, Wolfe Herd threatened to remove “members with low-quality and incomplete profiles” in a focus on quality over quantity.
Bumble has also paid attention to its non-romantic ventures. In November 2025, the company launched a new standalone BFF app.
Like many tech CEOs, Wolfe Herd has turned to AI as a potential draw for users. In May, Bumble launched an AI assistant called Bee. Bumble calls Bee a matchmaker, with the tool meant to replace the need to swipe. The company is also testing out having Bee create dates for matches.
Then, in August, Bumble announced it would be getting rid of its distinguishing feature: women messaging first.
The company cited a 2024 internal survey that found two-thirds of women felt less pressure around dating when men made the first move. At the time, the company launched its Opening Move feature, which allowed men to make the first move using preset prompts and gave women 24 hours to respond or the match expired.
Now, anyone can message and users have 72 hours to respond.
“Today, our community is asking for more flexibility, less pressure, and more opportunities to create real, meaningful connections and that is what this new experience provides,” Wolfe Herd said in the announcement. “This evolution isn’t a departure from our founding vision, but the realization of it.”
