Bumble has struggled the last few years. A saturated dating app market, a decline in overall online dating enthusiasm, and struggles to effectively monetize its user base through premium features have been some issues at play. The company has also gone through some leadership changes.
CEO Lidiane Jones, who was formerly the CEO of Slack, resigned in January 2025. Jones was CEO for just one year, having taken the helm after Whitney Wolfe Herd's departure. Herd, the founder of Bumble, returned as CEO in March 2025.
Herd's return signals a strategic shift at Bumble towards creating a more curated and higher quality experience for users, leveraging AI, and expanding into other connection-focused avenues like friendships to drive long-term, sustainable growth. The success of this strategy in reversing recent declines in paying users and reigniting growth remains to be seen.