Connect with us

Published

on

In this article

The Bumble Trading Inc. website on a smartphone arranged in the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Monday, Jan. 4, 2021.
Gabby Jones | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Dating apps have been operating on the same model for years: Users throw in a handful of pictures and fill out a bio. For the most part, people look at those profiles and swipe left to deny, or right to express interest. If two people swipe right, they match and could end up on a date.

But now that’s changing.

The pandemic has caused a level of disruption that’s allowed companies to consider what the future of dating apps without mindless swiping might look like.

Look to Bumble, for example, which has a “Night In” trivia option. The feature lets users set up a virtual trivia date if they match with someone. It also allows users to send matches voice memos, a feature that went viral on TikTok earlier this year.

And Tinder, Match Group‘s largest dating app, has “Swipe Night,” a live, interactive dating feature where singles follow a storyline together. During a set period of time, people try to figure out who committed the made-up crime. At the end of each episode, members work with another participant through “Fast Chat,” where they’ll be able to talk about the story, analyze different clues, and help solve the mystery together. They can also later choose to match.

The addition of videos and audio will let people interact in a way that hasn’t been done yet with online dating, with the hopes they’ll spend more time on the apps (bringing in more money) and form better connections that could draw more people online.

The companies have hinted that there’s more to come in terms of social elements and more interactive features, but haven’t said exactly what’s on their product roadmaps. Potential features could include a Clubhouse-like audio chat or more ways to integrate friends into the experience.

“While swiping left and right has meaningfully changed how singles connect, we think users want more control over that experience,” Citi senior analyst Nicholas Jones told CNBC in an email. “To maintain a healthy and engaged network, BMBL will need to continue to innovate to provide users the experience they are looking for.”

Users have made it clear they’re interested in meeting up over video as a way to break the ice or check a date’s “vibes” before seeing them in person. Tinder said that nearly of users had a video chat with a match during the pandemic, while 40% planned to continue using video even when the pandemic is over.

Singles know what they’re looking for

Bumble said that coming out of the pandemic, people are “much clearer” with what they’re looking for from a relationship.

“We are really trying to give them the tools to do that and make the experience better for the more serious and intentional types of relationships that our users are talking about,” Bumble President Tariq Shaukat said on the company’s most recent earnings call. “So, a lot of what we’ve done in Q2 as well as the plan for Q3 and Q4 is really focused on activities like that in addition to new monetization features.”

Bumble, as mentioned, has Night In and the option to send things like pictures, voice notes and GIFs to matches. But the company could introduce things like video to users’ profiles or new ways to discover users outside of swiping right and left.

Tinder also added videos in-app and announced a “discover” section that mimics social media feeds. Users can see potential matches who share similar interests with them, like if someone has pets or is into skydiving.

Tinder said the changes are an effort to give Gen Z users what they want.

“Gen Z is using Tinder on their terms; bios alone don’t always tell enough of the story to get to a Like or a Nope,” the company said in June. Tinder is focused on the moment when someone is ready to swipe left or right on another user, CEO Jim Lanzone later explained to CNBC.

“That’s a really rich area for innovation,” he said. “This is the beginning of something.”

Lanzone joined Tinder last year after leading CBS Interactive, where he developed the company’s push into streaming. The executive’s hire was a clear indication Tinder wants to push more into video. But this time, he said, the focus is on making connections, not entertainment.

“Tinder itself is likely the number one generator of new relationships in the country, and probably marriages as well, on top of all the other connections that we make. And that’s not always something you can decide on the fly from just from someone’s photo or bio, though those are important, and Tinder, obviously, was a pioneer in moving category that way,” Lanzone added. “But we have this really rich roadmap now of, years probably, of innovation.”

Tinder’s parent company is also making broader moves. Earlier this summer, Match closed its $1.7 billion acquisition of Hyperconnect, a social networking company that’s credited with building “the first mobile version” of WebRTC. That will allow the company to focus on its research & development, adding more live chat features and video experiences to its apps.

Match COO Gary Swidler said on the company’s most recent earnings call that it expects at least two of its brands to use Hyperconnect tech before the end of the year, while a number of other brands will implement its tech by the end of 2022. The company hasn’t detailed exactly what the additions would look like, but it could include things like live broadcast or even more chat additions.

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.

Continue Reading

Technology

Texas Instruments’ stock falls on weak forecast

Published

on

By

Texas Instruments' stock falls on weak forecast

The Texas Instruments headquarters in Dallas, Texas, on Jan. 21, 2024.

N. Johnson | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Texas Instruments reported second-quarter results on Tuesday that beat analysts’ expectations for revenue and earnings. But the stock fell in extended trading due to a third-quarter forecast that missed estimates.

Here’s how the chipmaker did versus LSEG consensus estimates:

  • Earnings per share: $1.41 vs. $1.35 expected
  • Revenue: $4.45 billion vs. $4.36 billion expected

Texas Instruments said it expects current-quarter earnings between $1.36 and $1.60 per share, while analysts were looking for $1.50 per share. The company forecast revenue of $4.45 billion to $4.8 billion, for a midpoint of $4.625 billion. Analysts were expecting revenue of $4.59 billion.

Revenue increased 16% in the second quarter from $3.82 billion in the same period a year earlier. Sales in the company’s analog chip business, its largest, rose 18% to $3.5 billion, surpassing the StreetAccount estimate of $3.39 billion for the segment.

Net income rose 15% to $1.3 billion, or $1.41 per share, from $1.13 billion, or $1.22 per share, a year ago.

Texas Instruments is a key supplier of legacy semiconductors for automotive and industrial uses.

As of Tuesday’s close, Texas Instruments shares were up 15% for the year on broader market optimism for chips. In June, the company said it would spend $60 billion to expand chipmaking factories in Texas and Utah, a move that was praised by the Trump administration in its push to bring more technology manufacturing to the U.S.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

Impact of Nvidia's return to China

Continue Reading

Technology

Trump met with Amazon’s Jeff Bezos at the White House last week, sources say

Published

on

By

Trump met with Amazon's Jeff Bezos at the White House last week, sources say

Jeff Bezos, founder and executive chairman of Amazon, takes the stage during The New York Times’ annual DealBook Summit, at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York City on Dec. 4, 2024.

Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images

President Donald Trump met with Amazon founder Jeff Bezos at the White House last week, CNBC has learned.

The meeting between Trump and Bezos, one of the world’s richest men, lasted for more than an hour, according to two people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the conversation was private.

Amazon declined to comment on the meeting. A spokesperson for Bezos didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The nature and exact timing of the visit couldn’t be learned.

A Gulfstream G700 private jet linked to Bezos landed in Dulles, Virginia, outside Washington, on July 14 before taking off the next day, according to Jack Sweeney, a programmer who tracks flight data from jets owned by Elon Musk, Bill Gates and others.

Bezos, who also owns rocket company Blue Origin, has cozied up to Trump during his second term in the White House. Trump frequently hurled insults at Bezos during his first term, largely because of the Amazon founder’s ownership of The Washington Post.

Read more CNBC Amazon coverage

Bezos joined a swath of tech CEOs on stage at Trump’s inauguration in January after donating $1 million to his inaugural fund.

The Trump administration praised Bezos for his decision to revamp the Post’s editorial pages to focus on “personal liberties and free markets.”

In April, Trump said Bezos, who stepped down as Amazon’s CEO in 2021, was “terrific” and “a good guy” after the billionaire assured Trump that the e-commerce giant had no plans to display tariff-related surcharges on its website.

More recently, Bezos has reportedly sought to capitalize on the dramatic falling-out between Trump and Musk, who spent more than $250 million to help Trump win a second White House term and previously led the government-slashing initiative called the Department of Government Efficiency.

Bezos competes with Musk, who is the CEO of SpaceX, through Blue Origin and Project Kuiper, Amazon’s low-Earth orbit satellite internet venture.

After Trump and Musk’s relationship soured, Bezos spoke with Trump on several occasions, while Blue Origin CEO Dave Limp traveled to the White House, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

The conversations centered in part on government contracts, according to the Journal.

Continue Reading

Technology

Amazon to buy AI company Bee that makes wearable listening device

Published

on

By

Amazon to buy AI company Bee that makes wearable listening device

Amazon logo on a brick building exterior in San Francisco on Aug. 20, 2024.

Smith Collection | Gado | Archive Photos | Getty Images

Amazon plans to acquire wearables startup Bee AI, the company confirmed, in the latest example of tech giants doubling down on generative artificial intelligence.

Bee, based in San Francisco, makes a $49.99 wristband that appears similar to a Fitbit smartwatch. The device is equipped with AI and microphones that can listen to and analyze conversations to provide summaries, to-do lists and reminders for everyday tasks.

Bee CEO Maria de Lourdes Zollo announced in a LinkedIn post on Tuesday that the company will join Amazon.

“When we started Bee, we imagined a world where AI is truly personal, where your life is understood and enhanced by technology that learns with you,” Zollo wrote. “What began as a dream with an incredible team and community now finds a new home at Amazon.”

Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller confirmed the company’s plans to acquire Bee. The company declined to comment on the terms of the deal.

Read more CNBC tech news

Amazon has introduced a flurry of AI products, including its own set of Nova models, Trainium chips, a shopping chatbot and a marketplace for third-party models called Bedrock.

The company has also overhauled its Alexa voice assistant, released more than a decade ago, with AI capabilities as Amazon looks to chip away at the success of rivals such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Anthropic’s Claude and Google’s Gemini.

Ring, the smart home security company owned by Amazon, has also looked to introduce generative AI in some of its products.

Amazon previously experimented in the wearables space through a health and fitness-focused product called Halo. It sunset the Halo in 2023 as part of a broader cost-cutting review.

Other tech companies have launched AI-infused consumer hardware with mixed success.

There’s the Rabbit R1, a small square gadget that costs $199 and uses an OpenAI model to answer questions, as well as the AI pin developed by Humane, which later sold to HP.

Meta‘s Ray-Ban smart glasses have grown in popularity since the first version was released in 2021.

OpenAI in May acquired Jony Ive‘s AI devices startup io for roughly $6.4 billion. The company reportedly plans to develop a screen-free device.

Don’t miss these insights from CNBC PRO

Top Amazon AWS executive on the outlook for generative AI

Continue Reading

Trending