Hinge founder raises $18M for AI dating startup Overtone

Justin McLeod, the founder of Hinge, has raised $18 million for his new dating company, Overtone, less than a year after stepping down as Hinge’s CEO. Backers include Match Group, which owns Hinge, Tinder, and OkCupid, as well as FirstMark Capital and Pace Capital.

Details on the product are still limited, but Overtone describes itself as “a voice- and audio-forward service, enabled by AI, that provides highly curated introductions.” McLeod was explicit about what he does not want to build.

“Overtone is not a dating app. By that I mean it’s not a social platform with profiles that reduce people to stats, quotes and photos. There are no opaque, algorithmic feeds trained on split-second impulses. And there’s no juggling likes, matches and chats across many people at once.”

The pitch lands at a moment when dating app fatigue is becoming harder for the industry to ignore. A Forbes Health survey conducted in 2024 found that 78% of dating app users felt burnt out. Among the survey’s 1,000 respondents, people said they spent about 51 minutes per day on dating apps, often without forming meaningful connections.

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Many dating platforms are already adding AI features such as profile-writing help and machine-generated conversation starters. But Overtone appears to be taking a different angle: using AI to decide who should meet, not to handle the interaction itself.

“We get to know each person deeply, learning about them in their own voice, hearing their own unique story. And we make only the introductions that are worth making, grounded in relationship science and thoughtful reflection. We transparently explain why we believe someone is a great match.”

That approach puts Overtone alongside newer services such as Ditto and Date Drop, which are also betting that tighter, AI-assisted matching can work better than endless swiping and large open pools that often lead to ghosting.

Overtone is set to launch later this year in select locations. The company also said that relationship expert Esther Perel has joined its board, alongside Match CEO Spencer Rascoff and leadership advisor Diana Chapman.