Hinge founder raises $18M for AI-powered audio-first dating service Overtone

Justin McLeod, the founder of Hinge, announced an $18 million fundraise for his new dating company Overtone. Match Group — Hinge's parent company, which also owns Tinder and OkCupid — is helping to fund the venture alongside FirstMark Capital and Pace Capital.

McLeod stepped down from his CEO role at Hinge just last year to focus on Overtone. The company describes itself as "a voice- and audio-forward service, enabled by AI, that provides highly curated introductions."

"Overtone is not a dating app," McLeod wrote in a blog post. "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."

McLeod explained that Overtone uses AI to learn about each person deeply through their own voice and story, then makes only introductions that are "grounded in relationship science and thoughtful reflection." The company transparently explains why it believes someone is a great match, distinguishing it from apps that use AI primarily for conversation starters or profile building.

Notably, renowned relationship expert Esther Perel has joined Overtone's board alongside Match CEO Spencer Rascoff and leadership advisor Diana Chapman, signaling a serious commitment to relationship science.

A 2024 Forbes Health survey found that 78% of dating app users felt burnt out, spending about 51 minutes per day on apps without forming meaningful connections. Overtone's audio-first, AI-curated model directly addresses this fatigue by prioritizing quality over volume, ditching the endless-swiping paradigm that critics say fuels ghosting.

Overtone will be available later this year, initially in select locations. Competitors like Ditto and Date Drop are pursuing similar AI-powered matching approaches, signaling a broader industry shift.

The key question is whether McLeod can redefine AI-era dating from scratch and how Match Group's dual role as both investor and former parent will shape Overtone's independence.