Muzz Founder Shahzad Younas on Building the World’s Largest Muslim Dating App
Muzz founder Shahzad Younas has opened up about the growth of his Muslim dating and marriage app Muzz, including his decision to reject a $35 million acquisition offer from Match Group. Speaking on the Muslim Founder podcast, Younas also discussed Muzz’s funding, international expansion, and the economics of running the platform.
Today, Muzz has more than 10 million users across 120 countries and a team of around 160 people. Younas said the company kept its team relatively small for much of its history and only started scaling more aggressively in recent years. Despite the larger workforce, he said Muzz remains careful about adding headcount and questions whether a bigger team always leads to faster execution.
Younas said Muzz has taken a long-term approach to international growth. The company initially focused much of its marketing spend on Europe and the US, where it could see quicker returns. It later shifted more investment towards larger Muslim markets, accepting that it could take two or three years to build the brand. Muzz supports this with local PR, events and brand campaigns alongside digital marketing.
The company has also kept outside funding relatively limited. Younas said Muzz didn’t need all the money it raised and that around half of its Series A funding is still sitting in the bank, which the company keeps as a buffer. (Muzz raised $1.75 million in seed funding and $7 million in its Series A) Muzz continues to reinvest in the business, while servers, automated moderation, text messages and other core infrastructure alone cost around £100,000 a month.
Muzz’s finances show steady growth. Revenue reached £24.5 million for the year to January 2026, up from £22.1 million a year earlier. It has climbed from £13.7 million in 2023 and £17.8 million in 2024, an increase of almost 80% in three years. The company reported a £1.8 million loss after tax for the latest period.
Younas then recalled Match Group’s attempt to acquire the company in 2018. He said Match initially offered $10 million for Muzmatch, before raising its offer several times to $25 million. Younas rejected the offers and eventually told Match that $35 million would get his interest. Several weeks later, Match came back and agreed to the $35 million price. By then, Younas said he had lost interest. “Something in me said don’t do it,” he recalled. The relationship later developed into a trademark battle over the Muzmatch name, which Younas said cost the company around £2 million in legal fees, and ultimately led to its rebrand as Muzz.
More than a decade after launching Muzz, Younas said he has no regrets about turning down the deal. The company remains independent and continues to expand internationally.
