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’s IRL-focused app Kndrd, or Tiffany “TZ” Zhong’s Noplace app.
Investors are taking notice.
For instance, the IRL-social app 222, which matches strangers over dinner or activities with a personality quiz, raised a $2.5 million seed round from venture capital firms like 1517 Fund, General Catalyst, and Best Nights VC in 2024.
“We’re entering this new wave of social where people are trying to revert back to what people really use these platforms for to begin with — which is connection,” Maitree Mervana Parekh, a principal at Acrew Capital, told Business Insider in 2024.
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 recently told Business Insider. “But we spend most of our waking hours at work as professionals.”
Meet the founders of 11 startups competing with dating app giants like Tinder
Other startups, like Diem and Spill, have opened up investment rounds to include users themselves using the platform Wefunder.
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
BI spoke with several social-media and dating app founders about how they are raising capital, including the pitch decks they used to raise millions of dollars.
Read the pitch decks that helped 13 social-networking and dating startups raise millions of dollars:
Note: Pitch decks are sorted by investment stage and size of round.
Series A
Seed
Pre-Seed
Other
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 to date — including a recent check from Alexis Ohanian’s VC fund.
- Sweatpals, a fitness and wellness social platform, raised $12 million in seed funding.
- 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 to date.
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