A former Tinder executive has introduced a new dating app that enlists volunteers to assess the compatibility of potential matches, offering an alternative to traditional swiping methods that many singles find exhausting. The app, named Rivet, opened to users last week and employs a community of “matchers” who evaluate pairs of profiles to determine the likelihood of a successful connection.
Rivet, founded and led by Taru Kapoor—who spent eight years at Tinder overseeing several Asian markets—aims to emphasize quality matches over quantity by presenting users with a small number of carefully vetted prospects. The system sometimes includes individuals outside a user’s usual preferences, encouraging more diverse connections. “It surfaces a lot of people that you may otherwise swipe past, especially because when you’re swiping through like 200 people on Bumble or Hinge, people get faster and more transactional,” Kapoor said.
The app operates by having users complete detailed profiles outlining their preferences and characteristics. An algorithm then suggests potential matches, which are reviewed by volunteer matchers. These matchers vote on the compatibility of each pair, creating a composite score. High-scoring matches are notified and can choose to start messaging. Some features, such as messaging prior to a community match, require payment or earned “karma currency,” which users obtain through successful matchmaking and other app activities.
Rivet distinguishes itself by incorporating an artificial intelligence-powered visualization tool that blends photos of two people, helping users assess potential chemistry and physical compatibility more intuitively. The platform also aims to foster a sense of community and engagement through weekly leaderboards for top matchers, live social events hosted within the app, and promotions subsidizing first-date costs.
Kapoor highlighted the value of external perspectives in matchmaking, noting that people often can offer more objective and rational judgments when assessing others’ relationships than when evaluating their own. “Most humans are actually pretty good at reading other people,” she said.
This approach to dating is part of a broader trend of platforms seeking to counteract user fatigue with conventional swipe-based apps. Competitors like Bumble and Tinder have introduced various innovations—such as in-person meetups and AI-driven matchmaking features—in response to claims of dating burnout.
Rivet, based in New York City, has raised $10.5 million in seed funding and is available on iOS and Android. While it is free to join, some premium functions require payment, including the ability to message someone outside of a community match. The app’s model echoes earlier initiatives that incorporate crowd-sourced matchmaking, such as the Core, a platform launched last year by reality star Bethenny Frankel.
Whether Rivet’s community-driven approach will attract a substantial user base remains to be seen, but its combination of human curation, AI tools, and gamified social interactions is a distinct attempt to redefine online dating dynamics amid rising user dissatisfaction with conventional swipe-based applications.