Singapore dating app gets $7M Series B

Social dating app Paktor has secured S$10 million (US$7.39 million) in Series B funding and plans to use the new investment to expand deeper into Asia.

Launched in 2013, the Singapore startup said in a statement Tuesday that the latest round of funds came from previous investor Vertex Venture, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Temasek Holdings, as well as new investors Majuven and Convergence Ventures.

Paktor, which means dating in the Hokkien dialect, had closed its Series A investment round in November 2014 for an undisclosed amount, though reports estimated it to be some US$3.3 million. Last year, the company said, it raised more than US$5 million in total.

According to Paktor, its user base in Southeast Asia and Taiwan doubled to 5 million over the past six months, clocking more than 500 million swipes and 12 million matches a month. Boasting more than 5 billion profiles, the company said its users spent some 13 hours a month on the app, revisiting six times a day on average to match and chat with fellow users.

Paktor's CEO and co-founder Joseph Phua said: "The funds raised will be invaluable in helping us maintain our aggressive growth. More importantly, we've forged partnerships with strong players with the close of this round. With the experience and support from our investors, we are even more confident that we are en route to becoming one of the largest global social dating brands."

The latest funds will be used to expand the brand in existing markets including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Taiwan, as well as in new markets such as North Asia. The startup also will park some funds into product development, where it is looking to introduce more localized features such as in-app gifting and group chats. In addition, it is planning to increase its headcount, which currently stands at 50.