The UK government is dipping its toe into the booming sex business amid the coronavirus pandemic – investing more than $220,000 in a company that runs adult parties in London and New York, according to a report.
Killing Kittens announced Wednesday that it has secured the funding from the British government’s Future fund, which helps startups weather the coronavirus storm, CNN Business reported.
“Our world-famous parties are designed to encourage, liberate, build confidence and allow experimentation all within a safe environment led by our Kittens,” the company says on its website.
“Burlesque performances, ornate townhouses, countryside mansions. We guarantee it’s like nothing you’ve ever experienced before.”
CEO Emma Sayle told CNN Business she “never envisaged Boris as a sleeping partner,” referring to Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“Killing Kittens has arrived on the digital scene and we’re now pioneering the fastest-growing adult social network in the world,” added Sayle, who founded the members-only venture in 2005 with a focus on “the pursuit of female pleasure.”
But the viral global outbreak hasn’t exactly been a thorn in the company’s flesh.
Killing Kittens is purring along with 180,000 members in 12 countries — and recorded a 330 percent jump in traffic to its website during the lockdowns, according to CNN Business.
The outbreak, though, has forced it to move all its events and workshops online, accelerating its plans to take a plunge into the sex-tech industry, which delves in products and businesses geared to enhance sexual experiences.
The company seeks to compete against dating apps such as Match.com and Bumble, which also have experienced a surge in demand amid the pandemic.
It also plans to launch a digital ad platform for lingerie and sex toy companies, Sayle told CNN Business.
“Sex tech is one of the few industries that will come away from 2020 in a much better position,” Bryony Cole, founder of Sextech School, told the news outlet.
“In particular dating apps, sex toys and porn are booming during the pandemic. We are searching online for more intimacy or ways to entertain ourselves,” she added.
Killing Kittens — which says it is valued at about $14.9 million — recently raised $221,780 on crowd-funding site Seedrs – and that sum was then matched by the Future Fund, which provides loans of between $162,000 and $6.5 million, subject to at least match funding from private investors, CNN Business reported.