This cohort of young adults is so disenchanted with dating apps reliant on swiping that they’re willing to explore virtually any alternative — including an AI matchmaking service. After leaving UC Berkeley, Ditto co-founders Allen Wang and Eric Liu aimed to create a solution that would facilitate connections among their peers without the hassle of spending countless hours sifting through the chaos of platforms like Tinder and Hinge.

“Being part of Gen Z ourselves, we have directly observed the change in how individuals are relating to one another,” Wang expressed to TechCrunch. “People are becoming increasingly exhausted from the endless swipes and small talk, and they’re truly seeking something more authentic in real life.”

Rather than a conventional app, college students can join Ditto by sending a text to a specific iMessage number, along with a designated code. An AI chatbot then introduces itself as Ditto, “a dating project created by college students who understand it… no swiping, no uncomfortable DMs, just real dates every Wednesday at 7 pm.”

Users navigate through a text-based onboarding process, beginning with essential personal details such as name, gender, and birth date. Following this, Ditto delves into more targeted inquiries to grasp an individual’s personality, interests, and dating preferences. Some users even share images of their celebrity crushes to provide the AI with a better understanding of their type.

The Ditto algorithm seeks to match individuals not merely on shared hobbies and interests, but on what those hobbies and interests reveal about their character.

“For instance, if there’s a guy passionate about rock climbing, skydiving, and outdoor activities, and a girl who loves hip hop, streetwear, and skateboarding, while those interests may not appear similar at first glance, I can assure you that at a deeper level, both share an adventurous spirit; perhaps they are both quite individualistic,” Wang explained. “That’s fundamentally why people may feel chemistry with one another, hence our assertion that chemistry can indeed be predictable with accurate signals.”

Subsequently, each Wednesday at 7 p.m., Ditto sends users a message featuring their match for the week.

“The message includes the match’s details, along with time and place, and all users need to do is attend and get to know each other. After the date, we gather more feedback to enhance our understanding of the user and facilitate better future matches,” Wang noted. “At present, users aim solely to meet and get acquainted, so we’re effectively eliminating much of the friction for them, allowing us to handle the challenging parts while they simply show up and meet someone new.”

Ditto has recorded 150,000 registrations, with Wang stating that out of all matches made through Ditto, approximately 20% result in actual dates. (If that statistic seems low to you, it’s likely you haven’t tried Tinder.)

Ditto produces a collage-style visual to present users to each other and outline the reasons they may be compatible — a trend popular among Gen Z that other connection platforms with young founders like Sonder have embraced.

As with any dating service, especially one that reduces the time from matching to meeting, ensuring safety can be a concern — is the individual you’re meeting truly who they claim to be? Currently, though Ditto operates at only a limited number of colleges, there exists an inherent vetting system ensuring that users are verified students with a .edu email address. Ditto is concentrating on expanding to more institutions — and ultimately moving beyond just the collegiate landscape — while scaling securely. Even for well-established and heavily funded dating platforms, this presents a substantial challenge. However, Ditto does possess $9.2 million in seed funding from investors like Gradient, Peak XV, and Scribble.

Wang noted, “99% of our investors reached out to us through inbound inquiries since we gained considerable visibility on LinkedIn and Twitter. Even Duolingo’s co-founder Severin [Hacker] contacted me, saying, ‘Hey, I love your mission, I appreciate what you’re doing, let’s chat.’”

Ditto has garnered attention through its unconventional marketing strategies, including videos featuring robotic antics. Now based in San Francisco, Ditto employs 12 full-time staff, and they are also on the lookout for a “chief yacht officer” to host promotional events (yes, this is a real job posting).

“Our audience consists of college students, and they’re very perceptive about corporate marketing,” Wang commented. “But those stunts serve merely as the initial attraction, not the product itself… Viral moments capture college students’ interest; a successful first date is what encourages them to return.”