A new generation of consumer social startups is emerging.
From platforms focused on getting people to meet IRL to dating apps taking on Tinder or Hinge, startups are disrupting the digital social scene.
Founders of these startups are tackling problems like loneliness, dating app fatigue, and general dissatisfaction with the current social media incumbents.
Some founders come from Big Tech backgrounds, like the Instagram-heavy team behind photo-sharing app Retro, or the ex-Google employees building the 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.
Meet 19 startups in social networking, dating, and AI that investors have their eyes on
Some venture capital funds — such as French firm Intuition VC or gaming-focused firm Patron — have made tackling loneliness and relationships part of their investment theses.
But it's not just friendship and dating that are ripe for disruption.
Startups like Khosla Ventures-backed Gigi, Yale-student-founded Series, Boardy, Filament, and Goodword have raised capital for AI tools to help people network better 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, like social network Spill, have opened up investment rounds to include users themselves using the platform Wefunder.
Meet the founders of 11 startups competing with dating app giants like Tinder
It's not yet clear how many of these investments will pan out. Some startups are pre-revenue, while others are experimenting with monetization methods (such as freemium models).
"Founders have to be honest with themselves," said Marlon Nichols, a 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 VCs and investors eyeing new social startups
Pitch materials can also help woo potential buyers. Arya, an AI relationship wellness startup, shared the slides that convinced the team to acquire Flamme, another app for couples.
Business Insider spoke with several social media and dating app founders about the pitch decks they used to raise millions or ink deals.
Read the pitch decks from 18 social-networking and dating startups:
Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.
Series A
- Posh, an event-based social network based in New York City: $22 million Series A (12 pages)
- Spoon Radio, a social-audio startup: $17 million (15 pages)
- Clyx, an app to make plans with friends and meet new people: $14 million (22 pages)
- Pie, an IRL social startup founded by Bonobos' Andy Dunn: $11.5 million (31 pages)
- Meet5, an IRL social app for Gen X and baby boomers: about $9 million (11 pages)
- Howbout, a social-calendar app to help people make plans with friends: $8 million (12 pages)
Seed
- Ditto, an AI-powered dating startup for college students: $9.2 million (12 pages)
- Hangout, a social music platform: $8.2 million seed (26 pages)
- Goodword, an AI copilot that wants to help people make deeper professional connections: $4 million seed (11 pages)
- First Round's On Me, a dating app that prioritizes making plans over swiping and DMs: $3 million (16 pages)
- Escargot, a greeting card app that sends snail mail with the help of AI: $2.75 million (Notion memo)
- Seam Social, a Web3-inspired social network that lets users make mini-apps: $2.5 million (10 pages)
- Cerca, a dating app focused on matching people with mutual friends: $1.6 million (10 pages)
Pre-Seed
- Keeper, an AI matchmaking service that wants to help people find their soulmates: $4 million (20 pages)
- Series, an AI professional network for college students: $5.1 million pre-seed (10 pages). Read the pitch deck it's using to raise its next round, too.
Other
- Arya, an AI concierge app helping couples spice up the bedroom, shared the deck it used to raise a $21 million growth funding round (17 pages)
- Rodeo, a social shopping platform, shared the pitch deck it used to get accepted into an A16z startup accelerator (11 pages)
Read the materials that helped this startup get acquired:
- Flamme, an app for couples wanting to keep the spark alive, was acquired by AI relationship wellness company Arya. Read the LinkedIn DM and two slides from its pitch deck that helped seal the deal.
Read about more social networking and dating startups raising millions:
- Airbuds, a social music app, told Business Insider in November that it has raised $10.2 million — including a recent check from Alexis Ohanian's VC fund.
- Sweatpals, a fitness and wellness social platform, raised $12 million in seed funding.
- Bond, a social app that uses AI to document memories, raised a $5 million seed round.
- Sitch, an AI matchmaking dating app, announced in April that it had raised $2 million in pre-seed funding.
- Amata, another AI matchmaking dating startup, recently launched in the US and disclosed that it raised $6 million in 2023.
- Gigi, an AI social network for making professional connections, announced in September that it raised $3 million from Khosla Ventures.
- Corner, a social mapping app for Gen Z, disclosed in September that it has raised $3.75 million.
- Left Field, a dating app, got a spot on 'Shark Tank' and scored a $200,000 investment from Alexis Ohanian and Kendra Scott.
- Fizz, an anonymous social app for college students, raised an undisclosed SAFE to expand globally and deeper into the ads business.
Read next
Sydney Bradley has been covering media and tech for Business Insider since 2020. She breaks news and writes extensively about Instagram and Facebook, as well as new platforms and startups shaping social media, dating apps, the creator economy, venture capital, and tech culture.Sydney's reporting on Instagram was nominated as a finalist for the 2021 Los Angeles Press Club National Entertainment Journalism Awards.She graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in American Studies. You can follow Sydney's work on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram at @sydneykbradley.Have a tip? You can also contact her via encrypted messaging app Signal (@sydneykbradley.123), encrypted email ([email protected]), or standard email ([email protected]). Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here’s our guide to sharing information securely.Selected stories:
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