Rivet, a newly launched dating network, has secured $10.5 million in seed funding to build and scale its community-driven matchmaking platform. The investment was led by Peak XV Partners, Shine Capital, and Blume Ventures, and it comes as the company announces its nationwide availability across the United States. Rivet is introducing a model called Social Matching, which aims to bring human judgment back into the process of finding romantic connections.
A Different Model for Dating
The platform allows users to participate either as singles seeking connections or as matchers who evaluate potential pairs and recommend introductions they believe could succeed. High social matching scores lead to introductions, but each person independently decides whether to match and start a conversation. Rivet describes this as a give-to-get approach, where people can help others find love while also receiving recommendations for themselves.
Unlike conventional swipe-based apps that rely heavily on algorithmic discovery, Rivet emphasizes the role of community perspective and human intuition. The company argues that while dating apps expanded the pool of potential partners, they often made dating feel transactional and isolating. By involving people in the matchmaking process, Rivet hopes to surface connections that users might otherwise overlook.
Funding and Expansion Plans
The fresh capital will be used to develop the product, expand distribution, and scale the platform across the United States. Rivet also maintains an office in Delhi NCR, with engineering and machine learning teams largely based in India. The startup was founded in 2025 and is a product of MeantToBe, Inc., based in New York.
Rajat Sahni, previously chief executive officer of CarDekho's used-car business, is a co-founder alongside Taru Kapoor, who spent nearly a decade building and scaling Tinder and other Match Group brands. Early investor Elie Seidman, former CEO of Tinder and OkCupid, advised and mentored Kapoor during Rivet's development. Seidman described social matching as a category-defining shift that combines human judgment with technology at scale.
Consumer Interest and Market Context
A national survey of 2,012 U.S. adults commissioned by Rivet found that 68 percent of Gen Z and Millennials would be interested in anonymously helping someone they do not personally know find a romantic match if the person made the final decision. The top motivations for helping others were supporting someone in finding love and helping someone avoid a bad match. This suggests a meaningful audience for community-based dating features beyond the traditional single user base.
Rivet competes with established dating and matchmaking platforms such as Tinder, Hinge, Bumble, The League, and Wingman. Its differentiation rests on attracting people who are willing to recommend matches, alongside singles who want connections. The company is betting that recommendations from other people can identify potential partners that users might dismiss on swipe-based apps.
Leadership Perspective
Kapoor stated that dating has always been social and that early dating apps removed the people from the experience while expanding the pool of possible matches. She believes humans understand chemistry and compatibility in ways that algorithms cannot replicate. Rivet's model is designed so matchers succeed when two people actually match, creating an incentive structure aligned with the goals of single daters.
With its national launch and initial funding, Rivet enters a competitive market with a distinct focus on community participation and human recommendations. The company aims to transform the dating app experience from a solitary search into a more social and supportive process. Its ability to attract both daters and matchers will be central to its growth and long-term relevance.