Reflections on China’s Dating App Market in the Wake of the Merger Between Momo and Tantan
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Reflections on China’s Dating App Market in the Wake of the Merger Between Momo and Tantan

Huang Youcan and Xiao Qiu
Huxiu, 2018
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Editorial Rating

8

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  • Analytical
  • Applicable
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Recommendation

The mobile dating app market was once highly competitive with hundreds of products going head-to-head with each other to provide China’s large population of singles with the opportunity to meet strangers online. Now, few are left standing, and the two market leaders Momo and Tantan are about to merge. Momo began as a location-based, instant messaging application, allowing users to connect with people nearby. As one of the first entrants in the market, Momo grew rapidly and secured its leading position by continually adding new features that promoted social interactions and entertainment. Latecomer Tantan, on the other hand, which uses Tinder’s swiping model, gained market share with its easy-to-use design and female-oriented user experience. In this article from Huxiu, a news site focused on tech and business, reporters Huang Youcan and Xiao Qiu compare the companies’ milestones, histories of product development and different growth strategies – and analyze the logic behind the acquisition. getAbstract recommends this article to anyone interested in China’s businesses or its dating scene.

Summary

On February 23, 2018, Momo – China’s leading mobile dating app – announced its plan to acquire competitor Tantan for more than $600 million. Although the two apps share the common goal of getting strangers to interact with one another, their design and models are quite different. Momo’s design has more secondary pages and layers; Tantan has a minimalist design. Momo’s app incorporates more functions, while Tantan concentrates on one core functionality. 

Momo launched in August 2011. Initially, it was an app that connected strangers based on geographical location. The app grew quickly, and soon users called it the “holy grail of hookup tools.” In November 2013, Momo began turning a profit. The company had completed five funding rounds and signed up a number of notable investors, including Matrix Partners China, Sequoia Capital, DST Global, Alibaba, Rich Moon Limited and Tiger Global Eight Holdings. In 2014, just two-and-a-half years after its initial launch, Momo hit 100 million users. In December 2014, Momo went public ...

About the Authors

Huang Youcan and Xiao Qiu are writers for Sanjieke, an online university for Internet product developers and operators.

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