About Hornet
Hornet is a Consumer company based in Hempstead (United States) founded in 2011 by Christof Wittig and Sean Howell. Hornet is operated as a social networking app for the queer community. It operates on a Freemium model. Hornet has raised $16.5 million across 3 funding rounds from investors including Ventech China, Blued and INSPIRANO. Its chief executive, as recorded, is Christof Wittig. Its website hornet.com draws about 942 thousand monthly visits. Hornet offers products and services including Hornet App. Its focus areas include Technology, Social Media and Dating and Networking Platforms. Its legal entity is Queer Networks, Inc. Its competitors include Grindr, Lex and SCRUFF; 1 of its 3 listed competitors has raised funding.
Company details
Hornet is managed as a leading social networking platform for the queer community, with over 100 million users worldwide. It is designed to facilitate engaging chats, connections, and discussions on current topics. Features such as virtual travel, hashtags, and filters are provided to help users discover and connect with others. The platform is built with a focus on privacy and safety, ensuring a secure space for self-expression within the community.
- Total Equity Funding$16.5M (USD)
in 3 rounds
- Latest Funding Round$8M (USD), Series A
Nov 2016
- InvestorsVentech China
& 2 more
Products & Services of Hornet
Hornet offers a comprehensive portfolio of products and services, including Hornet App.
A platform for connecting with queer community globally.
Apps and channels of Hornet
its YouTube channel Hornet has 41.6K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from Hornet
The most watched videos on Hornet's YouTube channel, Hornet (41.6K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on Hornet.
Funding Insights of Hornet
Hornet has successfully raised a total of $16.5M across 3 strategic funding rounds. The most recent funding activity was a Series A round of $8 million completed in November 2016. This substantial capital infusion reflects strong investor confidence in the company's business model, growth potential, and market opportunities. The funding enables strategic expansion, product development, market penetration, and operational scaling to drive long-term value creation and competitive advantage.
- Total Funding $16.5M
- Total Rounds 3
- Last Round Series A — $8M
- First Round $500,000
(Jul 2012)
- Investors Count 3
All 3 funding rounds of Hornet with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2016 | $8M | Series A | – | – | |
| Nov 2016 | $8M | Series A | – | Ventech China | |
| Jul 2012 | $500,000 | Angel Round | – | – | – |
3 investors in total: 3 institutional.
Investors in Hornet
Hornet has secured backing from 3 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Ventech China, Blued and INSPIRANO.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tech-focused venture capital firm funding companies in Europe and China | ventechchina.com | Shanghai, China | ||
| blued.com | ||||
An online store operated for general consumer products. | inspirano.de |
Investor details for Hornet
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
- Complete investor list
- Round participation
- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
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People of Hornet
20 people are tracked at Hornet (7 in leadership, 1 in board & advisors, 12 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Christof Wittig | Co-Founder & CEO | Leadership |
Sean Howell | Co-Founder & President | Leadership |
Matt Hirst | Head Of Engineering | Leadership |
Damien Brenier | Head Of Finance | Leadership |
Jakub Hladík | Head of Frontend Engineering | Leadership |
Victor Sevilla Lage | Global VP Marketing | Leadership |
Gerard M. | Head Of Operations & Customer Support | Leadership |
Niklas Lindstrom | Director | Board & advisors |
Pedro Moreno | Programmatic Advertising Yield Manager | Team |
RICARDO PERALTA | Manager | Team |
Erik van Zyl | Senior Backend Developer | Team |
Gilberto Tenahua Juárez | Moderators Program Manager | Team |
Doğuş Mete Öztan | Software QA Engineer | Team |
Abby Nurock | BizDev and Operations | Team |
Nate Mitchell | Lead DevOps Engineer | Team |
Pavol Kmeť | Senior iOS Developer | Team |
Harry Birch | Senior Frontend Engineer | Team |
Gabriel Moterani | Marketing Manager | Team |
Jawad Badran | Brand Partnerships Key Account Manager | Team |
Weerapol Sae-Lor | Customer Relationship Management, Business and Marketing Consultant | Team |
Complete people profiles for Hornet
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
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- Team structure
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Timeline of Hornet
3 dated milestones of Hornet across 5 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded Hornet is founded.
- Funding First funding round of $500K.
- Funding Latest funding round, Series A, of $8.0M.
Competitors of Hornet
Hornet has 3 listed competitors in our database, 1 of them funded. They include Grindr, Lex and SCRUFF.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| grindr.com | 2008 | Los Angeles, United States | 42 | Geolocation-based dating and social platform for LGBT community is provided. | ||
| lex.lgbt | 2019 | New York, United States | $7.1M | LGBT community interactions are facilitated through a social platform. | ||
| scruff.com | 2010 | New York, United States | A mobile dating app designed for the gay community. |
Detailed competitors of Hornet
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of Hornet
The website of Hornet (hornet.com) receives about 941.7K visits a month and ranks #51,545 among all websites worldwide, #604 in Romance and Relationships.
- Monthly visits941.7K
▼ 2.7% vs previous month
- Unique visitors204K
per month
- Global rank#51,545
among all websites
- Category rank#604
Community and Society · Romance and Relationships
- Bounce rate28%
- Pages per visit6.2
- Average visit9 min 45 sec
- DevicesDesktop 25% · Mobile 75%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with Hornet. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
gethornet.com | gethornet.com | 100% | #771,750 | – | |
| bearwww.com | 82% | #69,368 | View details | ||
| datingscout.com | 82% | #345,828 | View details | ||
| gaydar.net | 49% | #415,502 | View details | ||
tochato.com | tochato.com | 49% | #63,994 | – | |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 16 similar websites and full traffic analytics for Hornet
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 16 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Top companies in Matchmaking & Relationship Apps
3 companies that operate in the same segment as Hornet (Matchmaking & Relationship Apps) in United States, ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
App-based platform providing women-centric dating and match making services | 2014 | Austin, Texas, United States | USD 965.66 M | 580 | ||
Personality-based dating and matchmaking are facilitated through a mobile app. | 2012 | New York, New York, United States | USD 26.78 M | |||
Geolocation-based dating and social platform for LGBT community is provided. | 2008 | Los Angeles, California, United States | USD 439.9 M | 147 |
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Related news about Hornet
Complete news archive for Hornet
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- Full article archive
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- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
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Frequently Asked Questions about Hornet
Hornet was founded in 2011 and raised its 1st funding round 1 year after it was founded.
Hornet is headquartered in Hempstead, United States. It is registered at Hempstead, New York, United States.
Christof Wittig is the CEO of Hornet, as recorded in our data. They have also founded this company.
Hornet is a funded company, having raised a total of $16.5M across 3 funding rounds to date. The company's 1st funding round was a Angel Round of $500K, raised on Jul 2012.
Hornet is managed as a leading social networking platform for the queer community, with over 100 million users worldwide. It is designed to facilitate engaging chats, connections, and discussions on current topics. Features such as virtual travel, hashtags, and filters are provided to help users discover and connect with others. The platform is built with a focus on privacy and safety, ensuring a secure space for self-expression within the community.
Hornet offers Hornet App.
Hornet has 3 investors. Key investors include Ventech China, Blued, and INSPIRANO.
Hornet operates through Queer Networks, Inc..
The website of Hornet receives about 942 thousand visits a month and ranks #51,545 among all websites worldwide.