Bumble, a women-centric dating startup, has officially made its market debut, operating under the ticker symbol “BMBL” on the Nasdaq. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan led the offering.
This latest news is a win both for Austin’s tech scene, as well as women entrepreneurs since Bumble’s founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd, 31, is now the youngest woman to take a company public, according to Business Insider. She has now joined the ranks of a very small group of women founders who have led IPOs at all.
News of Bumble’s plans to go public were swirling around in September. Then, on Wednesday, the company raised nearly $2.2 billion through its IPO by selling 50 million shares of its stock at $43 a piece. On Thursday, its stock closed at $70.31, nearly 64 percent above its IPO price. Shares of its stock popped up another 12 percent Friday morning.
Founded in 2014, Bumble has made a name for itself as a go-to relationship app for women, providing a space where women initiate the conversations. It is best known for its dating services, but the company also says the app can be used to build platonic and professional relationships too.
2020 was an especially busy year for Bumble, with its total active monthly users ballooning to 42 million, according to its Q3 report. The company has also spearheaded several initiatives over the past few months, including a six-figure partnership with the National Domestic Violence Hotline to combat domestic violence, and a public outreach campaign to find intersectional, LGBTQ+ groups to fund.
Bumble is headquartered in Austin, where it employs about 100 people. The company has more than 70 open tech positions at its offices around the world, many of which are remote friendly.
