Tinder's founder and CEO Sean Rad is being demoted by the app's owner, IAC, the Internet media conglomerate run by Barry Diller.
The news, first reported by Forbes, broke Tuesday morning, though Rad was notified of the demotion last month.
Sexual harassment accusations against Tinder's CMO Justin Mateen resulted in the cofounder leaving the company (he resigned after a suspension), although Forbes notes that Mateen and Rad are still close friends. The episode had called into question Rad's leadership as well as the executive culture at the startup.
[seealso slug=http://sale-online.click/2014/09/13/tinder-fails/%5D%3C/p%3E%3Cp%3EThe app was also on its way to launching an important step toward monetization: a premium paid service on top of the existing free app.
IAC owns a variety of online dating companies, including OkCupid and Match.com, as well as various other digital properties like CollegeHumor and Vimeo. IAC has owned Tinder since its early days of development in Hatch Labs, a now-defunct startup incubator that IAC funded, about two and a half years ago.
Rad was notified of IAC's decision in a phone call in October at the Forbes Under 30 Summit, and negotiated to remain with the company as it searches for a new CEO. Rad's role at the company going forward is unclear, though Forbes reported that he could remain in one of the lead product positions.
Rad's removal from the head position gives IAC a chance to consolidate its power in Tinder and capitalize on the app's meteoric growth. Tinder has attracted somewhere between 18 million and
">50 million monthly active users, depending on which anonymous source can be believed. That success has led to valuations in the range of $1 billion, which would make it almost 20% of IAC's overall net worth.
IAC did not respond to a request for comment.