AI could change dating app game: Teleport CEO

Wed, May 24, 2023, 11:50 a.m.

- Well, there are a lot of people looking for love, and a lot of money to be made in helping them find it. The dating app market made $4.94 billion in 2022, with around 20 million users willing to pay for premium features. Now Teleport is looking to streamline the process, using one of the oldest tricks in the dating book, matchmaking. Now the invite-only app harnesses the power of an AI to eliminate the endless swipe cycle, for $111 a month.

Teleport founder and CEO, Chad Goodman, joins us now with a look at what's next in dating apps. Good to see you, Chad. So, obviously, this is a space that's already very crowded. Talk us through what Teleport is trying to do differently here.

CHAD GOODMAN: Pleasure to meet you, Rachelle. Teleport isn't a dating app. Teleport is a matchmaking membership for the most eligible singles in the world, that is powered by AI.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: And so with that in mind, then, so talk about the process. Because it's a selective process. You have to apply for membership. A considerable price tag, $111. And it does, sort of, feel like old-school matchmaking meets AI. So talk us through the process here.

CHAD GOODMAN: Of course. The-- the best thing to know here is that the AI is entirely powered by the member themselves. They are given the tools that they need to get to know themselves better, by going through Teleport's branded sessions, understanding your-- things like your love languages, your interests, your passions. As well as looking through other members on the platform, and letting the algorithm know what you want to see more of in your ultimate match. Then every Monday at 11:11 AM, you receive your three most compatible matches.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: And so you-- so you're able to view five daily profiles that you can send messages to; three optimized matches a week, but you're only able to message one. So I know that we're sort of in this era of swipe cycles with dating apps. What does, sort of, having this narrow field of a dating pool look like? And the data that AI is pulling from, to make these matches.

CHAD GOODMAN: First and foremost, our-- as you mentioned, our membership is exclusive. So we are going through a rigorous process with our membership committee, to onboard the most illegible singles in the world. And first and foremost, you're meeting people who are like-minded, who are looking for the same thing. And most importantly, are highly intentional about how they live their life, and what they're looking for in a partner.

So every day, you go through your five profiles that we give you, that you can use to program your AI. It gets to know more and more about you. And every day, you get closer to the best representation of what your ultimate match will be.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Now, obviously, the big names in this space-- I mean, you have Match.com, you have Bumble, you have Grindr as well. And you have all these companies really trying to pull in AI as well, and optimize their services. Are you concerned at all, that some of these bigger brands might, sort of, have their own, sort of, improved AI matchmaking service, and perhaps a more-- some of this more concierge service that Teleport offers?

CHAD GOODMAN: I'm not concerned. I-- I've been in the industry for a while, about seven, eight years now, building dating products. And I've personally facilitated over 300,000 first dates. But through that process, I learned the hard way that the industry is actually designed to keep you single.

The business models that created the industry-- Match.com, Bumble, you name it-- they profit off of your attention, not your intention. They need you to constantly swipe. And they are in the business of keeping you hooked, not in the business of finding you love.

So we completely rewrote the business model. It's the reason why our monthly membership is a little bit more expensive. And it's also the reason why we do not have a free version of the product. All members are paying for a service that is crystal clear what you should be getting in return.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: So if you can't afford the service, and you're looking for love, and you sort of hop on to Teleport's website, what should people think then?

CHAD GOODMAN: In the upcoming years, we will be opening up the product to a wider demographic. Today, we're entirely focused on building the technology that is mandatory to evolve the human race, to making it effortless to find your perfect match. And over the course of the next two, three, four years, we will have built the product and the algorithm that can predict who you are looking for, and who you have the top chemistry with, with a-- a high success rate. That's when we'll open the app to a wider demographic.

RACHELLE AKUFFO: Fascinating stuff. We'll definitely be tracking the progress there. A big thank you to Teleport founder and CEO, Chad Goodman. Thanks so much.

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AI could change dating app game: Teleport CEO

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