Hinge CEO Justin McLeod is leaving from his role to launch a new artificial intelligence dating product called Overtone.
Match Group, the dating giant that owns apps like Hinge, Tinder and OkCupid, is backing Overtone with upfront funding and plans to take a “substantial ownership position,” according to a press release.
Backed by Match, Overtone was incubated as a project in-house at Hinge. McLeod and a dedicated team spent the year developing the idea for 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 developing new, autonomous AI experiences. Whitney Wolfe Herd, founder of Bumble, said wants to use AI to become “the world’s most intelligent and emotionally intelligent matchmaker.” Somewhat infamous, Wolf Herd is suggested last year’s idea of singles using AI to stand alone and date other people’s AI.
It’s not yet clear how Overtone will differentiate itself from other dating apps, which are experimenting with AI features to offset the market’s growing discomfort with online dating — especially among Gen Z.
Tinder has reported nine straight quarters of declines in paying subscribers and has been leaning into artificial intelligence 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 lovers find more interesting things to say than the usual chat. Tinder and Facebook Dating have each experimented with AI matching to combat “swipe fatigue.”
Handing over control of your dating experience is one thing, but other attempts to integrate AI into these apps become even more dubious.
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Match CEO Spencer Rascoff said last month that a “major pillar of Tinder’s upcoming product experience in 2026” will be a feature called Chemistry. With the user’s permission, the feature will access users’ camera rolls to learn more about them. (For the record, we’d advise against giving tech companies unlimited access to even more of your data.)
McLeod founded Hinge in 2011 as a dating app with a greater focus on building relationships than facilitating casual dates. The app, which is on track to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2027, was acquired by Match in 2019. Jackie Jantos, Hinge’s president and chief marketing officer, will take over as CEO. McLeod will remain in an advisory role at Hinge until March.
This summer, TechCrunch spoke with Jantos at SXSW London about how Hinge will appeal to Gen Z, a growing market increasingly frustrated by meeting people online.
“This is a generation that has grown up with a deep understanding of how digital experiences are created and what they’re trying to get out of them,” Jantos told TechCrunch.
Gen Z wants transparency and authenticity from digital brands, according to Jantos. While some may see it as inherently incompatible with the company’s growing reliance on artificial intelligence, Hinge’s AI recommendations feature, launched in March, has led to 15% increase in matches and contact exchanges in the first quarter of this year.
Based on Jantos’ comments upon assuming her new role, it appears that Hinge will continue to invest in these features under her leadership.
“Our focus will remain on purposeful innovation based on culture, creativity and a deep understanding of how people connect today,” Jantos said in a statement.
