"Match Group, the dating giant that owns apps like Hinge, Tinder, and OkCupid, is backing Overtone with pre-seed financing and plans to take a "substantial ownership position," according to a press release. With Match's support, Overtone was incubated as a project inside of Hinge. McLeod and a dedicated team spent the year developing the idea of Overtone, which is described as "an early-stage dating service focused on using AI and voice tools to help people connect in a more thoughtful and personal way.""
"McLeod isn't the only dating app founder branching out into new, standalone AI experiences. Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble, said she wants to use AI to make "the world's smartest and most emotionally intelligent matchmaker in existence." Somewhat infamously, Wolfe Herd proposed the idea last year of singles using AI to stand-in for themselves and date other people's AIs."
"Tinder has reported nine straight quarters of paying subscriber declines and has leaned into AI with features that are supposed to help users get more matches. Hinge launched another AI feature just this week called "Convo Starters," which is supposed to help daters come up with more interesting things to say than the usual small talk. Tinder and Facebook Dating have each experimented with AI-powered matching to combat "swipe fatigue.""
Justin McLeod is stepping down as Hinge CEO to launch Overtone, an AI dating product backed by Match Group with pre-seed financing and a planned substantial ownership stake. Overtone was incubated inside Hinge, and McLeod and a dedicated team spent a year developing a voice- and AI-focused service intended to help people connect more thoughtfully and personally. Other dating founders, including Whitney Wolfe Herd, are pursuing standalone AI matchmaking experiences. Major dating apps are adding AI features amid declining engagement, especially among Gen Z, with companies testing AI-powered matching to counter swipe fatigue.
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