AI Matchmaker Ditto Ditches Swiping for Weekly Dates at 7pm

Ditto, an AI-powered dating app founded by UC Berkeley dropouts Allen Wang and Eric Liu, is gaining traction among Gen Z college students disillusioned with swipe-based apps like Tinder and Hinge. Instead of swiping, users text an iMessage number to sign up, then interact with an AI chatbot that learns their personality, interests, and dating preferences, even allowing users to upload photos of celebrity crushes. The algorithm matches people based on deeper traits inferred from their hobbies, not surface similarities. Every Wednesday at 7 pm, Ditto sends users their match, along with a time and location for a date. The service currently has 150,000 signups, with about 20% of matches leading to actual dates. Ditto is available at a few dozen colleges, where users are vetted via .edu emails, and is backed by $9.2 million in seed funding from investors including Gradient, Peak XV, and Scribble. The company, now based in San Francisco with 12 full-time employees, has gained notoriety through irreverent marketing stunts, such as robot videos and a 'chief yacht officer' job listing. Co-founder Allen Wang emphasizes that while viral moments attract users, a good first date is what retains them. Ditto aims to expand beyond college campuses while scaling safely.