Known uses voice AI to help you go on more in-person dates

Celeste Amadon and Asher Allen were working on an app that used AI to book restaurants for dates when they came across a bigger idea that encourages people to meet in person. And now it’s catching on with investors.

The duo created a voice-activated AI onboarding system for their app that allowed them to learn more about users without having to fill out a form. What they found: People liked to talk, and that made the onboarding session longer, with the app lasting an average of 26 minutes. That’s how San Francisco-based dating startup Known was born.

“Our view is that for the first time, we can know enough about someone to get them a meaningful date. And if we could do that much faster with a lower rejection rate, we could create a user experience that could get people on more dates,” she said.

And the early results suggested they were on to something.

In its testing phase in San Francisco, Known said 80% of introductions led to in-person dates, which is much higher than swipe-based dating apps. Buoyed by these signals, the startup has raised $9.7 million from investors including Forerunner and NFX, along with Pear VC and Coelius Capital. Notably, this is Forerunner’s first investment in a dating app.

“Celeste is a very thoughtful founder who understands the mindset of the consumer, and that’s a young woman, to be honest. There are other people who may focus on the male demographic, but she focuses on the young woman who has a lot of unspoken desires and needs that, if you put them in a profile, they would never say, this versus that. And I think in a conversation you can bring out a lot of those nuances, but in the past the conversation would cost $ 10,000. matchmaker,” Eurie Kim, a partner at Forerunner, told TechCrunch.

Amadon said she has always been very interested in social impact on a large scale and thinks dating is inherently one of the biggest issues facing her generation.

“A million pieces have been written about the loneliness epidemic in the US. And I really think it’s the biggest problem of our generation,” says Amadon, who left Stanford with Allen to build the startup.

The app, which is in beta testing in San Francisco, uses voice AI-powered onboarding to ask users various questions without requiring them to fill out forms. Amadon said this modality allows the startup to know more about users and provide them with great matches, with one user onboarding clocking in at an hour and 38 minutes.

According to Known, people would edit these as they typed out their answers. With voice, onboarding is more personal. The company’s AI can request dynamic follow-up actions based on the conversation. For example, if someone recently moved to the city, the AI ​​can ask them what they like and don’t like about their experience so far.

Once onboarding is complete, the AI ​​will introduce potential matches to users. They can ask AI agents about those profiles. If they like a profile, they can tap « interested. » When two people are matched, they have 24 hours to accept the introduction and 24 hours to arrange a date. The company said that with this mechanism, the app aims to avoid lingering chats and ghosting while encouraging people to meet in real life. After their dates, users can give their feedback to the AI ​​and receive more refined match recommendations.

Known hasn’t completely abandoned the restaurant idea. The app also helps in choosing restaurants based on users’ likes and dislikes. Using the AI ​​chat and calendar integrations, users can also indicate their availability for first dates. In the beta phase, the company charged $30 per successful date. However, the startup is not appreciated and says it will experiment with different models to find out which payment method works best.

Today, the startup has three full-time engineers and four people working on go-to-market, while several contractors work in all areas. Amadon, whose previous experience included internships in politics, and Allen, who worked on product at the AI-powered online shopping app Phiaplan to strengthen the workforce with this funding.

Known is currently testing in San Francisco and plans to launch early next year.

There are several other new startups, including Overtone, the new app from Hinge CEO Justin McLeodthat try to use AI to learn more about users and find common ground for them. Some of them claim to offer customized matchmaker services that cost thousands of dollars at a fraction of the cost. Incumbents want Tinder, BumbleAnd Hinge are also pushing AI features to keep their user base engaged. Despite the growing number of startups, Amadon welcomes the competition.

“When it comes to other startup dating products, I’m so happy to see a lot of people building in the space because I think this shows that it’s time to move away from a swipe-based model. And I think most of them that I’ve seen have been quite different than what we’re building at Known,” she said.