• Home
  • News
  • Fortune 500
  • Tech
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
TechTinder

Now Tinder Wants to Be More Like Snapchat With Latest Buy

By
Rachel King
Rachel King
Down Arrow Button Icon
By
Rachel King
Rachel King
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 16, 2017, 2:06 PM ET
An example of deploying Tinder's Smart Photos algorithm.
An example of deploying Tinder's Smart Photos algorithm.Courtesy: Tinder

It’s not just Facebook. Tinder has its eyes set on video—and possibly Snapchat—based on its latest acquisition.

The dating app (MTCH) just acquired Wheel, a free social media app advertises itself as a collaborative platform to create “video stories,” which can be spruced up with text and emoji, among other graphics.

The news was first reported by Business Insider, and Tinder confirmed the merger to Fortune. Terms of the deal have not been disclosed.

At first glance, the functionality is strikingly similar to Snapchat as well as Instagram (FB), which itself drew criticism for copying features with the debut of Instagram Stories.

But video messages don’t necessarily need to be sent between two users or just shared with followers at-large. Rather, the app encourages more of a crowdsourcing approach, suggesting “anyone can join in” to add creative direction to shared videos. Thus, more of a video version of the game “Telephone”…on a smartphone—or as a Tinder spokesperson described it, a “continuous ‘wheel’ of creative storytelling.”

With Tinder’s now-trademark method of swiping left or right for potential suitors, a continuous wheel could certainly be a new spin for Tinder.

“We are always exploring new ways to innovate while helping our users make connections on Tinder,” said Brian Norgard, head of product and revenue at Tinder, in a statement.

Get Data Sheet, Fortune’s technology newsletter

Launched in 2015 after its co-founders met at the annual South By Southwest tech and entertainment conference in Austin, Wheel had raised at least $1 million in seed funding by June 2016, according to an Entrepreneur feature last year. That pool of VC funding grew to $3.2 million, based on Business Insider’s estimates.

Related: The Snapchat IPO Just Got a Lot Cheaper

Now with four employees total, the entire team will be moving to Tinder headquarters in West Hollywood, California. Paul Boukadakis, Wheel’s CEO, will join Tinder as vice president of Special Initiatives, while co-founder Chris Shaheen will step into an unspecified senior role on Tinder’s development team.

Owned by dating services conglomerate Match Group, a free version of Tinder is still available to applicable users, while the paid version Tinder Plus now counts more than 1.6 million subscribers. Tinder says that 26 million matches are made on the platform each day, with more than 20 billion matches made to date.

According to mobile intelligence firm Sensor Tower, Wheel had fewer than 5,000 downloads worldwide on the Apple App Store (AAPL) and Google Play (GOOGL) since its launch, and it was most popular in the U.S. and Australia.

About the Author
By Rachel King
See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in Tech

AIMeta
It’s ‘kind of jarring’: AI labs like Meta, Deepseek, and Xai earned some of the worst grades possible on an existential safety index
By Patrick Kulp and Tech BrewDecember 5, 2025
11 hours ago
Elon Musk
Big TechSpaceX
Musk’s SpaceX discusses record valuation, IPO as soon as 2026
By Edward Ludlow, Loren Grush, Lizette Chapman, Eric Johnson and BloombergDecember 5, 2025
11 hours ago
data center
EnvironmentData centers
The rise of AI reasoning models comes with a big energy tradeoff
By Rachel Metz, Dina Bass and BloombergDecember 5, 2025
11 hours ago
netflix
Arts & EntertainmentAntitrust
Hollywood writers say Warner takeover ‘must be blocked’
By Thomas Buckley and BloombergDecember 5, 2025
11 hours ago
person
CybersecurityDigital
Dictionaries’ words of the year are trying to tell us something about being online in 2025
By Roger J. KreuzDecember 5, 2025
12 hours ago
Greg Peters
Big TechMedia
Top analyst says Netflix’s $72 billion bet on Warner Bros. isn’t about the ‘death of Hollywood’ at all. It’s really about Google
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 5, 2025
14 hours ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Economy
Two months into the new fiscal year and the U.S. government is already spending more than $10 billion a week servicing national debt
By Eleanor PringleDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
‘Godfather of AI’ says Bill Gates and Elon Musk are right about the future of work—but he predicts mass unemployment is on its way
By Preston ForeDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nearly 4 million new manufacturing jobs are coming to America as boomers retire—but it's the one trade job Gen Z doesn't want
By Emma BurleighDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang admits he works 7 days a week, including holidays, in a constant 'state of anxiety' out of fear of going bankrupt
By Jessica CoacciDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Real Estate
‘There is no Mamdani effect’: Manhattan luxury home sales surge after mayoral election, undercutting predictions of doom and escape to Florida
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
Tariffs and the $38 trillion national debt: Kevin Hassett sees ’big reductions’ in deficit while Scott Bessent sees a ‘shrinking ice cube’
By Nick LichtenbergDecember 4, 2025
2 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.