Blind dating app聽JigTalk has received investment from聽Apadmi聽Ventures, the investment arm of the UK鈥檚 leading mobile technology group.
Manchester-based聽Apadmi, whose clients include the BBC, NHS, Argos and United Utilities, is the latest聽investor in the rapidly growing firm.
With more than 40 million downloaded apps and numerous international awards,聽Apadmi聽established聽Apadmi聽Ventures to identify, invest in and work alongside high potential technology start-ups and use their 18 years of mobile knowledge to help them scale quickly, robustly and hit commercial targets.
鈥淲e get to see lots of great ideas and people, but the JigTalk team are next-level,鈥� said Howard Simms, CEO of聽Apadmi聽Ventures.
鈥淭he combination of a hugely disruptive challenge to one of the biggest markets in the world and a group of creative people with such phenomenal drive is extremely exciting.
鈥淲e鈥檙e already working closely together to enable JigTalk to scale as fast as such a brilliant opportunity deserves.鈥�
Quickly gaining attention for its disruptive gamified alternative to Tinder, JigTalk鈥檚 selling point is that 鈥渋t鈥檚 what鈥檚 on the inside that counts鈥�.
JigTalking聽consists of 16 jigsaw pieces initially covering each user鈥檚 face, popping away, one by one, as more and more messages are exchanged.
Available for free on iOS and Android, the platform encourages people to move away from the superficial hotspots of current dating apps, and instead positions personality first and foremost.
It was recently 聽featured on our聽‘101 Rising Stars of Tech’ list.
JigTalk CEO and co-founder Alex聽Durrant said: 鈥淲e鈥檙e incredibly excited to bring聽Apadmi聽Ventures on board and grow rapidly with their vast expertise and impressive management team.
鈥淚t鈥檚 yet another step towards disrupting the dating industry.鈥�
Soft-launched in February 2017, the app already has 10,000 users after launching in four cities including Manchester, with a brand-new version due for release in October.
Just last month聽the Leeds-based firm聽became the first UK start-up to be accepted into Nasdaq鈥檚 Entrepreneurial Centre聽in San Francisco.