AI-driven Ditto replaces swiping with weekly campus dates for Gen Z

Ditto was founded by Allen Wang and Eric Liu, who left UC Berkeley to build a dating alternative for their generation, frustrated with swipe-heavy apps such as Tinder and Hinge. College students join by texting a designated iMessage number and completing an onboarding flow that gathers basic data and detailed personality cues, even allowing uploads of celebrity crush photos. The AI algorithm matches users by interpreting underlying traits—like adventurousness—rather than matching identical interests, then sends each pair a Wednesday-at-7 PM date invitation with venue details.

After the meetup, participants provide feedback that the system uses to improve subsequent matches. Operating at a limited number of universities, Ditto verifies participants with.edu email addresses and plans to expand beyond colleges while maintaining safety. Backed by $9.2 million in seed capital from investors including Gradient, Peak XV and Scribble, the San Francisco-based startup now has twelve full-time employees and is even hiring a “Chief Yacht Officer” for promotional events.