Hinge‘s founder and CEO, Justin McLeod, is stepping all the way down to launch Overtone, an AI-driven courting service.

McLeod launched Hinge in 2012, based on its web site, and relaunched the popular dating app in 2016 “with a renewed dedication — serving to individuals discover love.”

McLeod mentions the relaunch in a weblog put up on Overtone’s website, stating that public sentiment was turning on courting apps on the time, and so was his. So he made the choice “to tear down Hinge as we knew it and rebuild from scratch.”

“And but, because the cultural tides shift once more, I’ve begun to really feel a stir acquainted to the one which sparked our reinvention ten years in the past,” McLeod writes, harking to the degrading public opinion of dating apps (though Hinge has monetarily grown between 2024 and 2025).

McLeod then goes on to debate the rise of AI connections and the way they cannot evaluate to human relationships — however that “AI, if used accurately, can assist us invent a completely new means for individuals to seek out their companions that’s way more private, way more environment friendly, and much simpler.”

For the final yr, McLeod and a small crew inside Hinge have been creating Overtone, which a Hinge spokesperson described to Mashable as an “AI-driven enterprise backed by Match Group” (the courting app conglomerate that acquired Hinge in 2018).

“Suppose much less like a social platform, extra just like the expertise of working with an all-star private matchmaker,” McLeod says within the weblog put up. “A service that prioritizes attending to know you — and everybody else — so it might probably make curated, personalised introductions to individuals in your wavelength.”

Jackie Jantos, previously president and chief advertising and marketing officer, will change into Hinge’s new CEO, based on a press release. Tamika Younger will probably be Hinge’s chief advertising and marketing and communications officer after beforehand serving as senior vp of worldwide communications. McLeod will stay as an adviser to Hinge by means of March.

Hinge, like many dating and hookup apps, has been leaning into AI lately. This month, it launched Convo Starters, an AI function designed to assist break the ice with a primary message that is higher than “hey.” In January, Hinge released AI-driven prompt feedback to encourage customers to put in writing extra considerate responses to prompts.

Hinge’s personal customers are using AI to date, based on a report launched by the app in November.

Overtone will not be the primary AI-driven “matchmaker.” Earlier this yr, Mashable interviewed Nandini Mullaji, founding father of AI matchmaking app Sitch. One other matchmaking service, Three Day Rule, launched an AI-powered matchmaking app this fall.