Key Takeaways
- Match Group CTO Will Wu will step down in May after two years at the company.
- Wu helped Match Group innovate with AI, particularly through AI-centered app features that offer personalized flirting advice and dating tips.
- Wu’s departure is the latest in a series of executive restructuring at Match Group.
In May, Match Group’s Chief Technology and Product Officer (CTO) Will Wu will step down citing personal reasons after two years at the dating platform.
Wu announced his departure on LinkedIn, where he expressed his thoughts about the career move. “This was not an easy decision, but it’s one I made with a deep sense of clarity and optimism for what’s ahead,” he said.
Wu says he brought a passion for innovation to his role at Match Group. As CTO, he was the creative and strategic mind behind several projects,
Wu is no stranger to creation. Before his time at Match Group, Wu helped build Snap, Inc. during its early startup days. As a founding member of the Product & Design team at Snapchat, Wu helped create features that came to define the app, such as its dynamic Discover page and Chat messaging.
Now, Wu has set his sights on the hottest topic in the industry: AI.
“I’m feeling a strong pull to go even deeper into AI,” he said on LinkedIn. The current AI boom played a role in Wu’s decision to leave Match Group. “[AI is] the area that’s captured my imagination more than anything in years, and I’m passionate about creating the next generation of AI-native products.”
Since he joined Match Group in January 2023, Wu has helped shepherd the company through the burgeoning AI revolution. “I had the rare chance to drive our AI strategy, found Match Group’s AI Lab, and build a dedicated innovation team of exceptional designers and product thinkers,” he said.
Wu notably connected Match Group with OpenAI, a move he said helped to “launch a wave of AI-driven product innovation — from reimagined personalization and discovery to entirely new formats for connection and expression.”
Recently, he helped build Tinder’s The Game Game, an AI chatbot game that tests a user’s flirting skills and offers personalized tips. Bloomberg reported that Wu’s AI projects will be overseen by Match Group’s Vice President of Innovation, Mark Kantor.
Wu’s departure is the latest in a series of leadership changes at Match Group. There have been shakeups among the Board of Directors and in the C-suite; Hesam Hosseini took over as Match Group’s COO on April 1, and Spencer Rascoff took over as CEO in February 2025.
Match Group’s recent restructuring mirrors that of the dating industry at large. Bumble, too, has brought fresh faces onto its leadership team, as well as one familiar face: Whitney Wolfe Herd, who stepped back into her former role as CEO in March.
Change is in the air in the industry, thanks in part to what Wu called “a defining moment of AI transformation.” But Gen Z’s growing dissatisfaction with online dating has also prompted an industry-wide wave of innovation. Apps are competing for fewer users with flagging interest levels by investing in creative solutions, including AI.
Even as Match Group’s executive restructuring continues, the company’s commitment to AI, which was in part shepherded by Wu, is unlikely to change.
