Can AI improve the dating app market? A new dating app called Sitch aims to find out by leveraging human expertise in matchmaking to power its AI model.
Today’s dating apps bank on the speed of onboarding and having millions of options. Users create profiles within seconds by uploading photos and answering simple questions. The apps then rely on basic info and feedback from users’ swipes to find them potential matches.
Sitch aims to take a more thoughtful approach with its onboarding process and uses large language models (LLMs) to bring a human matchmaker’s expertise to the dating app experience, helping people find potential matches without swiping.
The startup was co-founded by Nandini Mullaji, whose knack for the dating market comes from her grandmother, also a matchmaker. She said that while companies like Match and Bumble dominate the space, people are still unsatisfied and not getting the matches they want.
“Matchmaking is a data problem. I have been good at matchmaking because I had so much more information about two people than a dating app would have. The data in those apps is insufficient to tell you if two people will have long-term compatibility,” Mullaji said.
Mullaji, a Stanford Business School grad, has worked on various dating and education-related projects, including being involved with Bumble’s launch in India. Co-founder Chad DePue was CTO of the anonymous social network Whisper and then worked at Snap.
Mullaji noted that, up until recently — when large language models (LLMs) became more commonly available — it was hard to scale the human-in-the-loop experience of matchmaking. DePue added that the startup’s goal is to extract data from profiles and pictures using LLMs and show personalized matches.
Essentially, Sitch built an AI version of Mullaji that helps users onboard by asking them details using almost 50 questions, which they can answer through text or voice.
After the dater’s profile is set up, the AI matchmaker displays its suggested matches. If both users agree to match with each other, the bot adds them to a group chat with the AI. At any point in time — even after their real-life dates — users can provide feedback about their matches to improve the AI’s personalization.
“We are constantly surprised and thrilled by how much users trust us in terms of what users share when they are onboarding and when they later provide feedback,” DePue said. “I think they are also sharing a lot more openly as they know this data is not being publicly shared.”
The startup initially trained its AI models with more than 75 parameters for matchmaking provided by Mullaji, and tapped into her matchmaking skills to understand why she thought two people would match up. Then the company used feedback from the users to scale its models.
To generate matches, Sitch determines the compatible and contrasting traits between two profiles.
The company charges users per set-up (a match), and it sells set-ups in packs of three ($89.99), five ($124.99), and eight ($159.99).
Sitch is backed by $5 million in seed funding from M13 and a16z speedrun, with the startup getting $7 million in total funding to date. Anna Barber, a partner at M13, said that the venture firm was excited by the vision of a startup using AI to build a dating app.
“The way the founders are building the product maps is with how someone would work with an actual matchmaker. You would call the matchmaker before and after a date and constantly provide feedback. We felt that the idea of expanding a type of service that is personalized to a much wider audience who couldn’t afford matchmakers,” Barber told TechCrunch over a call.
“A lot of the dating apps behave similarly to mobile games, where they are trying to extend your attention or gamify the user experience in order to engage more because it leads to more sales,” she added. “With Sitch, since users are paying upfront, the team doesn’t have to focus on these growth hacks.”
Sitch currently offers its services just in New York, but plans to open up shop in more cities this year. The company said it’s checking all profiles manually to maintain quality and safety.
The startup may have its work cut out for it because larger companies, like Tinder, Bumble, and Grindr, are also infusing AI in different parts of their app experiences.
Sitch is banking on the fact that people might be looking to move away from swipe-based apps, as the likes of Tinder and Bumble registered a slowdown last year. Plus, the company is confident that as users give the app more data and are intent on serious dating, it will stand out.
The app is currently available on Apple’s App Store.
