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Dating App happn raises USD14m in Series B Round

Happn, a dating app that connects people the moment their paths cross, has closed a USD14 million Series B funding round led by Idinvest with participation from Alven Capital, DN Capital, Raine Ventures and private individuals Fabrice Grinda, David Wolfson and Gil Penchina.

To date, the company has raised a total of USD22 million. The new funding round will be used to drive expansion into Asia and grow its presence in its existing markets.
 
“The mobile dating space has grown substantially in the last few years and all signs point to its continued proliferation with happn really defining the hyperlocal dating game,” says Didier Rappaport, Founder and CEO of Happn. “We’ve experienced phenomenal global growth since launching last year, and we plan to continue expanding into more countries around the world.
 
“In addition to expansion into new markets, this new round of funding will also enable us to grow our team and enhance the user experience by building new functionalities that add to the current features that our members already enjoy.”
 
The real-time, hyper-localised app, which recently reached six million global users in more than 25 cities lets users seize everyday coincidences, avoid missed connections and take advantage of paths crossed in real-life. Happn will continue growing its reach by expanding into Asia and increasing its presence in Europe, South America and the United States.
 
“Idinvest is thrilled to lead this round of financing and to support one of the most international Paris-born startups,” says Guillaume Durao (pictured), Investment Director at Idinvest. “We were impressed by the fast, global growth of Happn’s user base and by the app’s early retention and conversion metrics when we first met the management team. Even more importantly, we believe in the very fresh and modern product developed by the company and the positive, urban, trendy and fun associations made with the Happn brand in the dating space.”
 
“We’ve been supporting Happn since the very first version of the application a little more than 18 months ago,” says Jeremy Uzan, Partner at Alven Capital. “During this time, we’ve never doubted the ability of this exceptional team to position Happn as a global leader in the new generation of dating tools. We’re very proud to follow this adventure with Didier Rappaport and his team and to contribute by giving them the right means for their strong ambitions.”
 
“The Happn team has continued to significantly outperform, and we at DN Capital are happy to continue to support their expansion and development,” says Nenad Marovac, Managing Partner at DN Capital.
 
“Happn is revolutionizing the way we make connections and has emerged as a clear leader in the fields of social networking and online dating,” says Gordon Rubenstein, Managing Partner of Raine Ventures. “Happn embodies the key qualities Raine looks for in a portfolio company and has already achieved tremendous global growth in a very short period of time. We are excited to partner with Happn and its talented management team as it continues to gain momentum.” 

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