TECH CRUNCH – Schmooze is designed to match users with like-minded people who want to make each other laugh. To use the app, a person swipes right to like, left to dislike, and up to love memes from a selection curated via AI. Match suggestions will pop on the screen based on meme choices, and the person can select either "Snooze" or "Schmooze." Today, Schmooze launched a new feature called "Schmooze Flirts" for users to share memes with their matches. Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Anurag founded the startup and beta-tested it at Stanford University. In March 2021, Schmooze came out of beta. The dating app has grown to 50K users. The company raised $3.2M in seed funding.
Category: Reporters – Lauren Forristal
TikTok-style Dating App Desti Filters Matches by Date Destinations
TECH CRUNCH – Desti is a new video-focused dating app that allows users to find matches based on a preferred date destination. The app launched in Austin, Texas. Desi doesn't have a "like" feature, so people are forced to start conversations. Users can send a message to a person, and the receiver can accept or reject the message. They can only see one at a time and must pass or reply to the message to move on to the next. There is also a friend version of the app called Besti, which is currently in beta. The company raised $1M at $5M valuation.