Global Dating Insights and Social Discovery Group are joining forces in New York City to host a conference for dating industry leaders and professionals. On March 19, a diverse group of panelists from across the dating industry will discuss hot topics, debate trends, and explore where those trends will lead. 

The conference is an opportunity for industry leaders, such as dating app designers, brand developers, and trend forecasters, to make professional connections and share their companies’ growth trajectories. It also gives industry leaders the chance to share their thoughts about the hearts and minds of the modern consumer. 

The conference will feature unique voices from every corner of the dating industry, from Desi matchmaking app UrbanMatch to Purr, a social chat for queer women and people who identify as transgender or non-binary. Attendees will see first-hand just how diverse the dating industry has become, and they’ll be able to contribute to conversations about the most pressing issues the industry currently faces, including user security and AI. 

Ahead of the event, Global Dating Insights highlighted five panels in particular. 

Industry Leaders Will Share Expertise & Debate Hot Topics

Mary Richardson and Brandon Teller, CEO and CTO, respectively, of bindr, will lead a discussion about content moderation and organic growth, as well as share their own insights into what it takes to build a modern-day dating platform. 

Trend forecasters will want to tune into the discussion lead by Mark Brooks, the CEO of the Internet Dating Excellence Association. He’ll share how today’s buzziest topics, such as AI integration, will evolve in 2025. His data-backed predictions will also touch upon which elements of the industry are most likely to grow in the new year. 

Global Dating Insights will put its diverse group of panelists to good use by hosting debates. One debate, titled Learning from Giants, will feature rare insights from four leading CEOs in the dating industry — Adam Medros (Spark), Karima Ben Abdelmalek (Happn), David Vermeulen (Inner Circle), and Olga Petrunina (Pure) — each of whom will share their thoughts on trending topics like privacy and user retention. Aspirational dating industry enthusiasts should listen up, as the dating app executives will also share general words of wisdom from their years of experience. 

The debate, “Funding Love: Raising Capital for Dating & Social Discovery Apps,” will weigh the financial pros and cons that come with building a modern day dating app. The debate will be led by Bill Alena of Social Discovery Group, but expect to hear the viewpoints of diverse leaders from across the industry, including Erik Hutton (Founder and CFO of Purr), Aryavrat Goenka (CEO, UrbanMatch), Sam Lukens and Mitch Alterman (COO/CEO, Hatched), and Hari Gopal, (Founder, Hearts Dating). 

These diverse viewpoints will be specifically addressed in the panel debate “The Power of Precision: How Niche Apps Build Deeper Connections in 2025.” Industry leaders and conference attendees alike will explore the implications of an increasingly-diverse industry, as well as the potential benefits of niche dating platforms. 

With representatives from every corner of the industry, the Global Dating Insights Conference is the ideal place for aspiring dating app developers, social data researchers, and niche content creators to network, explore different perspectives, and map out the future of the dating industry.