Grindr is coming out at the stock market.
On Friday, the location-based gay dating app made its public debut under the ticker symbol GRND. As CNBCreports, trading began at $16.90 and grew more than double — landing at $36.50 by the time the market closed. At certain points during the day, shares surged up to 400%.
Grindr first signaled plans to go public in March, and is now able to do so following a $2.1 billion merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) called Tiga Acquisition.
Grindr's entry into the stock market draws attention to LGBTQ inclusivity within the finance sector. On Friday morning, the New York Stock Exchange sported a "0 feet away" banner and rainbow flags in celebration of the LGTBQ community. Entertainment included drag queens Lady Bunny and Jorgeous, with music by Crystal Waters and Ty Sunderland.
Leading this chapter for Grindr is the newly installed CEO George Arison, who notably drew controversy last month for his conservative tweets. Speaking to the media on Friday, he highlighted the milestone moment for the LGBTQ community, and hinted at more forthcoming in-platform resources surrounding health and travel.
“It’s a pretty incredible thing that the company whose primary user base is gay and bisexual men, built by and for the LGBTQ population, with an employee base that is heavy in that cohort of the population as well, is now going public,” he told CNBC. “It’s not something that would not have happened 20 years ago, probably wouldn’t have happened even 10 years ago.”
According to the Wall Street Journal, other future plans include new efforts surrounding monetization and a possible subscription model. Currently, about 6% of Grindr's 11 million global users pay for the service.
\u201cInto public? So were they. Take a look at @Grindr's listing debut (NYSE: $GRND)\u201d— NYSE \ud83c\udfdb (@NYSE \ud83c\udfdb) 1668809141
\u201csup? into? @Grindr\u201d— Ty Sunderland \ud83c\udfc1 (@Ty Sunderland \ud83c\udfc1) 1668789999
\u201cI NEED THE GRINDR ARCTERYX\u201d— fletcher (@fletcher) 1668800264
Photo via Getty / Spencer Platt