A new generation of consumer social startups is emerging. From platforms focused on getting people to meet in real life to dating apps replacing Tinder or Hinge, startups are revolutionizing the digital social scene. The founders of these startups are addressing issues like loneliness, dating app fatigue, and general dissatisfaction with current social media headlines.
A new generation of consumer social startups is emerging.
From platforms focused on getting people to meet in real life to dating apps replacing Tinder or Hinge, startups are revolutionizing the digital social scene.
The founders of these startups are addressing issues like loneliness, dating app fatigue, and general dissatisfaction with current social media headlines.
Some founders come from Big Tech backgrounds, like the Instagram team behind photo-sharing app Retro, or the former Google employees who built social mapping app PamPam. Gen Z founders are also throwing their hats in the ring, like Isabella Epstein with her IRL-focused app Kndrd, and becoming content creators along the way.
Investors are taking notice.
Learn about 19 social media, dating, and artificial intelligence startups investors have their eyes on
Some venture capital funds, such as French firm Intuition VC or gaming-focused firm Patron, have included the fight against loneliness and relationships as part of their investment theses.
But it’s not just friendship and dating that are ripe for disruption.
Startups like Gigi, backed by Khosla Ventures, Series, Boardy, Filament, and Goodword, founded by Yale students, have raised capital for AI tools to help people better connect or maintain professional relationships.
“When people think about loneliness, they think about friends and family,” Goodword CEO Caroline Dell told Business Insider. “But we spend most of our waking hours at work as professionals.”
Other startups, such as the social network Spill, have opened investment rounds to include the users themselves who use the Wefunder platform.
Meet the founders of 11 startups competing with dating app giants like Tinder
It is not yet clear how many of these investments will pay off. Some startups are in the pre-revenue phase, while others are experimenting with monetization methods (such as freemium models).
“Founders have to be honest with themselves,” said Marlon Nichols, founding partner at Mac Venture Capital. “Some of them aren’t really venture-scale or venture-type investments. We’re looking for the next big thing, the next category leader.”
Meet 12 Venture Capitalists and Investors Seeking Social Startups
Presentation materials can also help attract potential buyers. Arya, an AI-powered relationship wellness startup, shared the slides that convinced the team to acquire Flamme, another couples app.
Business Insider spoke to several dating app and social media founders about the pitches they used to raise millions or sign deals.
Read pitches from 18 dating and social media startups:
Note: Submissions are categorized by investment stage and round size.
Series A
Seed
Pre-seed
Other
Read the materials that helped acquire this startup:
- Flamme, an app for couples who want to keep the spark alive, was acquired by AI relationship wellness company Arya. Read the LinkedIn DM and two slides from his presentation that helped seal the deal.
Read about more social media and dating startups raising millions:
- Airbuds, a social music app, told Business Insider in November that it had raised $10.2 million, including a recent check from Alexis Ohanian’s venture capital fund.
- Sweatpals, a social fitness and wellness platform, raised $12 million in seed funding.
- Bond, a social app that uses artificial intelligence to document memories, raised a $5 million seed round.
- Sitch, an artificial intelligence dating app, announced in April that it had raised $2 million in seed funding.
- Amata, another AI dating startup, recently launched in the US and revealed that it raised $6 million in 2023.
- Gigi, an AI social network for making professional connections, announced in September that it had raised $3 million from Khosla Ventures.
- Corner, a social mapping app for Gen Z, revealed in September that it had raised $3.75 million.
- Left Field, a dating app, landed a spot on ‘Shark Tank’ and got a $200,000 investment from Alexis Ohanian and Kendra Scott.
- Fizz, an anonymous social app for college students, created an undisclosed SAFE to expand globally and delve deeper into the advertising business.