Meme-Based Dating App in India Raises $4 Million in Funding

India-based dating app Schmooze just raised $4 million from Elevation Capital and other angel investors.

The meme-based dating app founded by Vidya Madhavan and Abhinav Bengaluru helps people connect based on their senses of humor and allows them to express their personalities creatively through memes. The round of funding also included investments from the founders of Ultrahuman, The Souled Store, Mosaic Wellness and Paytm, according to Economic Times.

The funding comes at a time when dating app revenue has been declining and dating app companies are struggling to better monetize their platforms. Many are turning to AI for enhanced features, like photo selection, helping users craft bios, and added safety features, hoping to attract users willing to pay for such perks.

Schmooze is also touting its AI-driven features, and said that the new funds will be used to enhance its AI engine as well as for growing the company, according to Economic Times.

Schmooze’s website offers a free version with a limited number of swipes per day. Users will have to pay a la carte or for a premium tier to get more opportunities to swipe, including for enhanced features like “SuperVibe,” or “Compliments,” which allows a user to send someone a compliment regardless of matching. Users can also pay to double their daily meme swipe limit.

Paying users also get profile recommendations with a premium subscription.

“GenZs are done with swiping on photos. They are looking for something deeper in the people they are interested in dating,” Madhavan told ET about the funds. “At the same time, another trend I observed is the huge explosion of memes, particularly among GenZs…and even millennials have started communicating through memes.” 

While memes are the focus of the app (geared to Gen Z users), Schmooze has already added other AI-driven features to its platform such as Roast AI, which “mimics conversations with a standup comedian” according to ET. It has also launched Rant AI which acts as an online journal but also responds to the user’s input to provide a sense of companionship, according to ET.

Schmooze is available outside of India including in the US, and seems to be growing. The app has over one million users and over nine billion meme swipes, competing with apps like Bumble, Hinge and Tinder in attracting Gen Z users.

Amit Aggarwal, principal at Elevation Capital, said in a statement about their investment in Schmooze: “Schmooze represents a fundamental evolution in the dating app market…It's an experience matching the psyche of today's youth, offering a vibe-check that resonates with their unique cultural language.” 

For more on this dating app, check out their website.