The problem of love is the question at the center of Overtone, the new AI- and voice-forward dating service from Hinge founder Justin McLeod. After more than a decade building Hinge into a $400 million business, McLeod left the CEO seat and raised $18 million to reimagine how technology helps people find a partner. His premise is simple and stubborn: as loneliness climbs, few problems matter more, and the deeper he digs, the more interesting it becomes. Overtone gets to know each person in their own voice and makes only the introductions worth making.
Ditto is a Berkeley-born AI matchmaker that skips the swiping. Students text their preferences, and every Wednesday Ditto sends one curated match over iMessage - with the time, place, and coffee-date logistics already handled. Founded by UC Berkeley students Allen Wang and Eric Liu, it went viral through sorority group chats, grew to roughly 100,000 users across about ten campuses, and raised a $9.2M seed led by Peak XV. Its bet: dating apps optimize for time-on-app, but people actually want a good date in real life.