Hinge CEO steps down to launch Overtone, an AI dating app

Hinge CEO steps down to launch Overtone, an AI dating app

Hinge CEO Justin McLeod is stepping down from his function to launch a new AI dating product called Overtone.

Match Group, the dating large 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 assist, Overtone was incubated as a project inside Hinge. McLeod and a devoted team spent the 12 months growing the thought 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, founding father of Bumble, said she desires to use AI to make “the world’s smartest and most emotionally intelligent matchmaker in existence.” Somewhat infamously, Wolfe Herd proposed the thought last 12 months of singles utilizing AI to stand-in for themselves and date other people’s AIs.

It’s not yet clear how Overtone will differentiate itself from other dating apps, which have been experimenting with AI options to compensate for the market’s rising malaise with on-line dating — particularly among Gen Z.

Tinder has reported 9 straight quarters of paying-subscriber declines and has leaned into AI with options that are supposed to assist customers get more matches. Hinge launched another AI feature just this week called “Convo Starters,” which is meant to assist daters provide you with more attention-grabbing issues to say than the ordinary small speak. Tinder and Facebook Dating have each experimented with AI-powered matching to fight “swipe fatigue.”

Ceding management of your dating experience is one factor, however other makes an attempt at integrating AI into these apps get even more doubtful.

The Gossip Blogger event

San Francisco
|
October 13-15, 2026

Match CEO Spencer Rascoff said last month that a “major pillar of Tinder’s upcoming 2026 product experience” shall be a feature called Chemistry. With the consumer’s permission, the feature will entry customers’ digital camera rolls to study more about them. (For the file, we might advise that you don’t give tech firms unfettered entry to even more of your data.)

McLeod based Hinge in 2011 as a dating app with a higher deal with constructing relationships than facilitating informal dates. The app, which is on observe to hit $1 billion in income by 2027, was acquired by Match in 2019. Jackie Jantos, Hinge’s president and chief advertising officer, will take over as CEO. McLeod will stay in an advisory place at Hinge by means of March.

This summer time, TechCrunch spoke to Jantos at SXSW London about how Hinge will handle Gen Z, a market that’s rising more and more disillusioned with assembly people on-line.

“This is a generation that has grown up with a deep understanding of how digital experiences are created and what they are trying to get out of them,” Jantos told TechCrunch.

Gen Z desires transparency and authenticity from digital manufacturers, according to Jantos. While some would possibly see this as inherently incompatible with the company’s rising reliance on AI, Hinge’s AI suggestion feature, launched in March, drove a 15% enhance in matches and get in touch with exchanges in the first quarter of this 12 months.

Based on Jantos’ comments upon assuming her new function, it appears that Hinge will continue investing in these options under her management.

“Our focus will remain on intentional innovation that is grounded in culture, creativity, and a deep understanding of how people connect today,” Jantos said in a press release.

Stay informed with the latest headlines that matter. At TheGossipBlogger.com, we ship well timed and credible coverage on breaking news, global occasions, politics, society, and every thing in between.

Whether it’s unfolding developments, coverage adjustments, or highly effective human-interest tales, our newsroom curates impactful content to preserve you up to date in real time.

From local points to worldwide affairs, we break down complicated tales with readability, context, and a deal with what’s related to you.

Bookmark News and test in often — because staying informed is the first step towards staying ahead.