A dating app called Ditto is ditching the swipe-based model in favor of AI matchmaking, arranging in-person dates for college students every Wednesday at 7 PM. The San Francisco-based startup, founded in 2026 by UC Berkeley dropouts Allen Wang and Eric Liu, has attracted 150,000 signups and $9.2 million in seed funding from investors including Gradient, Peak XV, and Scribble.
Rather than browsing profiles, users sign up by texting a specific iMessage number with a code. An AI chatbot then guides them through an onboarding process covering basic biographical details, personality questions, interests, and dating preferences. Some users upload photos of celebrity crushes to help the AI gauge their physical type. Each Wednesday, Ditto texts users their match for the week, along with a time and location — users simply show up.
The matching algorithm does not pair people based on shared hobbies alone. Instead, it attempts to identify underlying personality traits those hobbies reflect. “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… both are very adventurous,” Wang explained. “Chemistry is actually predictable with the right signals.”
About 20% of Ditto’s connected matches result in an actual date. After each date, the app collects feedback to refine future matches. Currently available at a few dozen colleges, the .edu email requirement provides a built-in vetting layer, though Wang acknowledges that scaling safely beyond college campuses remains a challenge the company is actively working to solve.
Ditto employs twelve full-time staff and has leaned on unconventional marketing — including robot stunt videos — to reach its college audience. Wang attributed the approach to a straightforward insight: “Our users are college students, and they can smell corporate marketing from a mile away.”
Source: TechCrunch