Justin McLeod, founder of the popular dating app Hinge, announced that he has successfully raised $18 million in funding for his newly established dating company Overtone. The funding was led by FirstMark Capital, Pace Capital, and Match Group (the parent company of Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge). McLeod stepped down as CEO of Hinge last year.

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Different from mainstream "swipe matching" apps, McLeod emphasized that Overtone "is not a dating app." This service is defined as an "AI-driven voice and audio service that offers carefully curated introductions." Users do not need to constantly swipe, match, and chat with multiple people, and the platform will not reduce users to data points and photos through obscure instant impulse algorithms.

This change directly addresses current pain points in the dating industry. Data shows that 78% of dating app users are experiencing "dating fatigue," spending an average of 51 minutes per day without being able to build satisfying relationships. While many apps currently try to use AI to generate opening lines or optimize profiles, many users are dissatisfied with outsourcing private conversations to computers. In contrast, Overtone's core logic is to use AI to narrow down matches, rather than replace actual communication. McLeod stated that the platform will explain the reasons for recommendations honestly based on relationship science, by deeply understanding each person's unique story and voice, and only introducing people truly worth connecting with.

Currently, new apps such as Ditto and Date Drop are also trying similar no-swipe, precise matching models to reduce the phenomenon of "social evaporation" caused by too many choices.

Overtone plans to launch in certain regions later this year. Additionally, renowned relationship expert Esther Perel, CEO of Match Spencer Rascoff, and leadership consultant Diana Chapman have announced their addition to the company's board.