| Grindr tested the healthcare waters last year when it launched a telehealth partnership that connected users to clinicians for prescription erectile dysfunction and weight loss drugs. |
| The early signals it got from that effort must have been strong, because the dating app for the gay community is now shelling out $250 million in cash and stock to buy the parent company of Canada-based telehealth startup Freddie. |
| The deal underscores just how attractive the healthcare industry is to non-healthcare companies looking for expansion opportunities. There is simply so much money to be made when spending in the sector is approaching a fifth of the US GDP. |
| At first, Grindr’s healthcare push seemed to come out of left field, but it does make some sense. Freddie provides HIV prevention care, and Grindr thinks its app is the perfect pathway to connect its users to that care. The company said 400,000 US Grindr users are already on pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, for HIV prevention. It estimates that more than 2 million additional US users should be on the medicine. |
| "We believe this combination can ultimately create a healthcare business as large as if not larger than core Grindr today and just as profitable," Grindr CEO George Arison said during an investor call on Sept. 30. Grindr reported $440 million in revenue and $94.8 million in net income in 2025. |
| Arison said on the call that Grindr’s earlier work through Woodwork, its telehealth platform powered by OpenLoop, proved that users trust Grindr with healthcare. But he noted that not being able to control the customer experience, because it was through a partnership, was "detrimental." Grindr declined to share Woodwork's user count or revenue when I asked. |
| Over time, the company plans to bring together PrEP, ED medication and GLP-1s under one brand called Grindr Health. Arison said the company may also expand into longevity and other clinical care. |
| We’re seeing the beginnings of a shift recently where companies are betting that patients will be willing to skip traditional healthcare channels or at least augment them with care accessed through apps or communities they are aligned with. OpenLoop was banking on that when it unveiled Launchpad in June to help brands set up telehealth businesses in
a day. Oura and Whoop are also hooking users up with clinicians. Who’s next? |
| - Shelby |
