Business Wire

SMITTEN

15.9.2022 13:02:36 CEST | Business Wire | Press release

Share
Iceland’s #1 Dating App, Smitten, Raises $10M Series A From Makers Fund, Possible Ventures and More to Woo Gen Z-ers Globally With Its Fresh Approach to Dating

Dating app Smitten has raised a $10M Series A from Makers Fund, Possible Ventures, Wonder Invest and current shareholders ByFounders, ProFounders, Tennin, and Smitten's board member and Vivino founder Heini Zachariassen. Smitten, the most popular dating app in Iceland and the second most popular in Denmark, will use the financing to grow its team and to expand to new markets as they woo Gen Zers with their fresh, gamified approach to dating.

“My co-founder, Asgeir, and I share an intense interest in how people connect and communicate,” says David Simonarson, Smitten Co-Founder and CEO. “After years of creating social consumer apps, we fell in love with the online dating space and launched Smitten in 2020. We created personality-based games and fun interactive profiles to make it easy for strangers to form meaningful connections. Seeing how much our users love Smitten, we believe we can become the leading player in online dating for Generation Z.”

Smitten is founded by David Simonarson, CEO, and Asgeir Visir, Designer, and was released by the founders and its CTO, Magnus Olafsson. Smitten mixes games, entertainment, and flirting to jumpstart conversations and help users engage more seamlessly. Smitten's fun and creative approach to dating has struck a chord with Gen Zers, proven by the app’s more than 200 million swipes to date and whopping 30%+ stickiness rate. Most dating apps leave people to convert a match into a conversation with awkward starts that lead nowhere. Smitten makes getting into a conversation as easy as swiping through use of games, interactive profiles and icebreakers. Smitten gets users into fun, quality conversations regardless of their conversation skills, and has found that more than 60% of Smitten matches result in a post-match interaction vs 11% on industry-leading app, Tinder*.

The key to Smitten’s post-match interactions are mini-games people can play on each other’s profiles. “Our questionnaire game, Guessary, allows you to get to know the other person you are viewing by guessing how they answered a series of Yes-and-No questions,” explained Asgeir Visir, Smitten Co-Founder and Designer. “You could be answering questions like ‘Have they ever been arrested?’ or ‘Do they like pineapple on their pizza?’ and you would get immediate feedback if you answered correctly or not. Another fun game, Lie Detector, is inspired by the age-old social game Two Truths and Lie, where people add three statements about themselves to their profile, and you have one chance to spot the lie. These games are designed for users to get to know the person they are viewing before deciding if they want to like them or not. And the beautiful part is when you match with someone, the results of the games are posted in the chat and act as an icebreaker, making it so much easier to initiate a fun conversation.”

“Social discovery and gaming is an increasingly interesting intersection, and the team at Smitten have created an amazingly fun experience that truly strikes a chord with young adults,” said Alli Ottarson, Makers' lead on the deal. “Having spent time building a strong relationship with the founders David and Ásgeir, we have been privileged to a front row seat to follow Smitten´s success. We share a common vision for how the next generation will meet and interact, and we’re thrilled to be a part of the Smitten journey."

To learn more about Smitten, please visit smittendating.com.

ABOUT SMITTEN

Smitten is on a mission to make the most fun dating app in the world. Through creative, unique profile games and entertaining content, Smitten transforms how people view online dating. While operating at the intersection of dating, gaming, and entertainment, Smitten gives its users superpowers by making it as easy as swiping to get into a fun and meaningful conversation. Smitten outperforms the industry-leading dating app regarding post-match interactions, with more than 60% of matches progressing to some interaction. Smitten is founded in Iceland by co-founders David Orn Simonarson, CEO, and Asgeir Visir, UX Designer. The seasoned duo has been working together creating social apps to connect people for the past ten years. The team's mission is to create the most fun dating app in the world.

*per research at https://arxiv.org/abs/1607.01952

About Makers Fund

Makers Fund is a global interactive entertainment venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments. Makers is dedicated to furthering growth and innovation in the interactive entertainment industry. With more than 90 portfolio companies to date, Makers provides founders strategic value that is deeply catered to companies across the value chain in the industry. For more information, visit makersfund.com.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220915005317/en/

About Business Wire

Business Wire
Business Wire
101 California Street, 20th Floor
CA 94111 San Francisco

http://businesswire.com
DK

Subscribe to releases from Business Wire

Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Latest releases from Business Wire

ICC Arbitral Tribunal Issues Quantum Award for AOP Health in BESREMi® Proceedings7.8.2026 19:48:00 CEST | Press release

An ICC Arbitral Tribunal has awarded AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH (“AOP Health”) a total of about EUR 112 Mio in a quantum award issued in the ongoing arbitration proceedings with PharmaEssentia Corp. (“PharmaEssentia”) concerning BESREMi® (ropeginterferon alfa-2b). The award quantifies AOP Health’s damage claims for PharmaEssentia’s intentional breaches at ca. EUR 82 Mio. It also awards AOP Health ca. EUR 31 Mio plus interest as reimbursement for AOP Health overpayments made to PharmaEssentia as a result of excessive pricing in the years 2019-2022. The Tribunal thereby confirmed that PharmaEssentia has been overcharging AOP Health by up to 900% over these years. The Tribunal affirmed AOP Health's valid set-off of the profit-sharing payments amount owed to PharmaEssentia of approximately EUR 17 Mio against AOP Health's substantially exceeding damages claims. This means that AOP Health shall not make any payment to PharmaEssentia. Interest on AOP Health’s claims will continue to accr

Coulson Aviation Canada Acquires 10 Former RCAF Hercules, Doubling C-130H Fleet7.8.2026 19:16:00 CEST | Press release

Canadian-led expansion will build the world’s largest and most capable C-130 airtanker fleet Coulson Aviation Canada, the Canadian division of Coulson Aviation, has acquired 10 former Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130H Hercules aircraft from the Government of Canada. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260807019094/en/ Britton Coulson, left, and Wayne Coulson stand in front of one of 10 former Royal Canadian Air Force CC-130H Hercules aircraft recently acquired by Coulson Aviation from the Government of Canada. At right is a Coulson C-130H outfitted for aerial firefighting with the company’s proprietary RADS-XXL retardant delivery system, capable of carrying up to 4,000 U.S. gallons, or more than 15,000 litres, of water or fire retardant. The acquisition doubles Coulson’s global C-130H fleet to 20 aircraft, expanding its capacity to build the world’s largest C-130 airtanker fleet. The acquisition doubles Coulson’s g

Energy Vault Announces Strategic Agreement to Deploy 1.25 GW of Integrated Power Infrastructure for Hyperscaler AI Data Center with Leading Power Generation EPC Deploying Caterpillar Gensets7.8.2026 18:16:00 CEST | Press release

Partnership combines Energy Vault's FEOC-compliant BESS, grid-forming PCS, and AI infrastructure control software with partner’s turnkey power generation, Caterpillar gensets and EPC capabilitiesReference architecture delivers firm grid-independent power, essential grid stabilization and load balancing to deliver modular, scalable, gigawatt-scale AI campuses with "always-on" availabilitySecond strategic framework agreement together advances Energy Vault's AI infrastructure strategy and establishes a repeatable “speed-to-power” deployment platformInitial 1.25 GW is backed by a hyperscaler customer contract for deployment in TexasEnergy Vault expects a revenue impact of ~$500 - $600 million in 2H 2026 and 2027, which will be discussed during the upcoming earnings call on August 11, 2026 Energy Vault Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NRGV) ("Energy Vault"), a global leader in sustainable energy infrastructure, today announced the execution of a strategic commercial agreement under which Energy Vault

SES Advances Next-generation MEO Strategy Following Successful Completion of IRIS² Rendez-vous 17.8.2026 10:52:00 CEST | Press release

IRIS² expands SES's differentiated MEO architecture while supporting Europe's secure, sovereign multi-orbit connectivity ambitions SES today announced the successful completion of Rendez-vous 1 (RDV1) under the Infrastructure for Resilience, Interconnectivity and Security by Satellite (IRIS²) programme, marking a key milestone in the programme's implementation phase and reinforcing Europe's path towards sovereign, resilient and secure satellite connectivity. The successful completion of RDV1 confirms the programme's readiness to move forward with implementation and provides greater visibility on the long-term scope, performance and economics of the MEO segment. SES's expected capital commitment for the MEO segment is up to €1.35 billion, reflecting current programme scope, while maintaining the deployment of 18 MEO satellites and the targeted service entry in 2030. SES’s share of the investment in the IRIS² programme for 2026 is included in SES’s FY26 Capex outlook as previously commun

Allianz Delivers Record Result and Is Well on Track to Achieve Its Targets7.8.2026 07:10:00 CEST | Press release

2Q 2026 This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260806509750/en/ Oliver Bäte, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz SETotal business volume at 45.6 billion euros, an internal growth of 5.7 percent1, with contributions from all segments. Asset Management delivers excellent growth. Operating profit rises 10.6 percent to a record level of 4.9 billion euros. Shareholders’ core net income at 2.6 billion euros; 12.7 percent below last year. Adjusted for a divestment gain last year and offsetting measures following the sale of the stake in our Indian JVs, underlying growth is strong at 10 percent. 6M 2026Total business volume at 98.6 billion euros, an internal growth of 4.3 percent1, driven by Property-Casualty and especially Asset Management. Operating profit rises 8.6 percent and reaches a record level of 9.4 billion euros. Shareholders’ core net income advances 15.5 percent to 6.4 billion euros. Adjusted for divestment effec

In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.

Visit our pressroom
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye