Bumble's share price soared on Monday following reports that technology holding company Ithaca is in advanced talks to buy the Texas-based dating app for around $1bn, according to the Wall Street Journal. The jump pushed Bumble's stock market valuation to over $580m, though this remains well below the more than $14bn peak it reached after listing on the Nasdaq in 2021.
Bumble is one of the world's most downloaded dating apps, but it operates in a competitive market where growth has slowed. The company was founded in 2014 by Whitney Wolfe Herd, who also co-founded Tinder. Bumble originally distinguished itself by allowing only women to initiate conversations with matches, but recently abandoned that feature.
The dating app sector has faced significant headwinds in recent years. Bumble cut almost a third of its workforce in 2025, with Wolfe Herd describing an "inflection point" in online dating. Match Group, which owns Tinder, OkCupid and Hinge, has also seen its shares decline sharply from their 2021 peak. An Ofcom report in 2025 found that UK adults were spending less time on dating apps than three years earlier, with some turning instead to activities like board game events and book clubs.