Gay.com was created by Mark Elderkin in 1994 as one of the earliest online communities for gay men. The site launched with a Java-based chat system in 1996 and quickly gained popularity across the United States. In March 2000, its parent company Online Partners raised $23 million in venture funding from investors including Flatiron Partners and Chase Capital Partners.
PlanetOut acquired the company in 2001, and the combined entity later went public in 2004. After a period of financial difficulty, PlanetOut merged with Here Networks in 2009 to form Here Media. Here Media operated Gay.com until selling it to VS Media in 2016. VS Media donated the domain to the Los Angeles LGBT Center in 2017, ending its 23-year history as a commercial online property.
Gay.com was a chat, personals, and social networking website catering to gay and bisexual men. Launched in 1996 with a Java-based chat system, the site featured LGBT-related news, community features, and premium subscription accounts. It offered chat rooms, personals, and social networking functionality, becoming one of the most popular online gay personals destinations in the United States during the early 2000s.
The site relaunched in October 2008 with an updated visual style and new features. After VS Media acquired Gay.com in 2016, the business model shifted to webcam services. In 2017, VS Media donated the domain to the Los Angeles LGBT Center, and it now redirects to the Center's website.
