AI matchmaking app Ditto lets college students text their way to real dates

Ditto was created by Allen Wang and Eric Liu, who dropped out of UC Berkeley to build the platform. Instead of presenting a feed of profiles, Ditto asks users to text a special iMessage number and go through an onboarding conversation with an AI chatbot. The chatbot introduces itself as “a dating initiative built by college students who get it … no swiping, no awkward DMs, just real dates every Wednesday at 7 pm.” It collects basic biographical information and then asks questions about personality, interests, and dating preferences. Some users even upload photos of celebrity crushes to give the AI a sense of their type.

Wang told TechCrunch that the algorithm matches people not on similar hobbies, but on what those hobbies reveal about their character. “If there’s this guy, and he’s really into rock climbing, skydiving, and outdoor sports, and this girl, if she’s into hip hop, streetwear, and skateboarding, then even though those hobbies don’t look similar on the surface, I can tell you deeper down, both are very adventurous,” he said. Every Wednesday at 7 p.m., Ditto texts users with a match, along with a time and location. “The users simply just need to show up and date each other and come back,” Wang said. “We’ll collect more feedback about the date, and then improve our understanding of the user, and send them to a better next date.”

According to TechCrunch, about 20% of matches arranged through Ditto end up going on a date. The app also creates collage-like graphics to explain why two people might be a good match, an aesthetic popular among Gen Z and used by other young-founded connection apps like Sonder.

Safety is a key concern for an app that moves from matching to in-person meetings so quickly. Ditto is currently available only at a few dozen colleges, where users are vetted with a .edu email address. The company is focused on expanding to more schools and eventually beyond college while scaling safely, a challenge that even the most established dating apps face.

Ditto’s seed funding came from investors including Gradient, Peak XV, and Scribble. Wang said 99% of investors reached out inbound, and even Duolingo co-founder Severin Hacker contacted him to express support. The company, now based in San Francisco with 12 full-time employees, has gained attention through irreverent marketing, such as robot stunt videos and a job posting for a “chief yacht officer” to host promotional parties. “Our users are college students, and they can smell corporate marketing from a mile away,” Wang said. “Viral moments get college kids to look; a good first date is what makes them stay.”