Lex, a social and dating app designed for the LGBTQ+ community, has been acquired by 9count, a mobile app conglomerate specializing in social networks.

Originally launched as an Instagram page in 2017, Lex was inspired by vintage lesbian personal ads. Its popularity prompted founder Kell Rakowski to transform it into an app in 2019. Within a year, Lex raised a $1.5 million seed round, and seasoned entrepreneur Jennifer Lewis came on board as co-founder and CEO.

“Mainstream social platforms really don’t serve this audience,” Lewis told TechCrunch. According to GLAAD, LGBTQ+ individuals are twice as likely to face online harassment, highlighting the need for dedicated online spaces for queer people. “What I’m passionate about at Lex is creating a social platform where users can connect with others like them while having a safe space to fully express their identities.”

Users of Lex have high expectations, as the app caters to a historically overlooked and mistreated community. Last year, Lex rebranded to focus more on general socialization rather than solely dating and hookups, which raised concerns among some users about the app becoming overly sanitized. One user expressed this sentiment to TechCrunch, stating, “There’s no need to encourage ‘social’ use unless you’re trying to discourse other uses (i.e., sex).”

As Lex joins 9count, users may worry about potential changes to the app. However, Lewis reassures that the acquisition will allow Lex to introduce new features more rapidly and enhance its content moderation capabilities. “We’re able to ship new features probably at three times the rate of before the acquisition,” she noted.

9count is led by Alex Hofmann, the former CEO of Musical.ly, the app that was acquired by ByteDance and evolved into TikTok. The conglomerate’s most popular app is Wink, a dating and friendship platform, but it also manages other apps like Summer, another dating service.

Hofmann aims for 9count to follow a strategy similar to ByteDance, which owns multiple apps under one corporate umbrella. “We had our first conversation and immediately realized we really share the same vision,” Hofmann said. “The vision is essentially that we believe the future of social media is not about building one massive product to chase billions of users with ads; rather, it’s about vertical social networks that empower communities.”