Hinge founder launches Overtone, an AI voice service for introductions

Justin McLeod raised $18 million for Overtone, a voice-forward AI service for introductions, as Match Group backed the spinout alongside FirstMark Capital and Pace Capital. Match first incubated the company inside Hinge in 2025 and is leading Overtone’s initial funding round while taking a substantial ownership stake.

The move pulled McLeod away from the company he founded in 2012 and launched as a mobile app in February 2013. Jackie Jantos, then Hinge’s president and chief marketing officer, became chief executive on Dec. 9, 2025, while McLeod remained an adviser through March. Hinge still markets itself as the dating app designed to be deleted, built to get people off the app and into in-person connections.

McLeod framed Overtone sharply against the swipe-and-feed model that dominates dating apps, saying, “Overtone is not a dating app.” The company describes the product as AI-enabled and centered on highly curated introductions.

In Match Group’s second-quarter 2025 results, Hinge revenue rose 25% year over year; the company’s fourth-quarter results showed Hinge’s direct revenue up 26% year over year, and monthly active users in European expansion markets climbed nearly 50% in fiscal 2025. Match’s June 2026 survey of 1,000 U.S. singles ages 18 to 39 found that 47% viewed AI negatively in romantic contexts, even as many respondents were open to AI help with profiles and conversation starters.