Hinge founder Justin McLeod steps down as CEO to launch AI-powered dating startup Overtone

Justin McLeod, the founder of Hinge, is stepping down as CEO to focus on a new startup that aims to rethink how people meet online, CNBC reported.

The project, called Overtone, is an early-stage dating startup built around AI and voice-based tools. Match Group, which owns Hinge, Tinder, and OkCupid, is backing the effort with pre-seed funding and plans to take what it describes as a “substantial ownership position,” according to a press release.

Overtone didn’t start as an external bet. The idea was incubated inside Hinge, with McLeod spending much of the past year working alongside a small team to shape the product. Match Group has committed to leading Overtone’s first formal funding round in early 2026, and Match CEO Spencer Rascoff will join the startup’s board, CNBC reported.

McLeod founded Hinge in 2011 with a premise that stood apart from swipe-heavy dating apps. The goal was fewer matches and more intention. That positioning helped Hinge grow into one of Match Group’s strongest brands, with the company on track to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2027. Match acquired Hinge outright in 2019.

Leadership at Hinge is now passing to Jackie Jantos, the app’s president and chief marketing officer. McLeod will remain an advisor through March, keeping a hand in the business he built even as his attention turns elsewhere.

In a statement, McLeod said, “The company’s momentum, including being on track to reach $1 billion in revenue by 2027, gives me full confidence in where Hinge is headed.”

Overtone enters a dating market that has grown restless, especially among Gen Z. Traditional apps are under pressure as younger users question swipe culture and signal fatigue with endless matching. Tinder has reported nine consecutive quarters of declining paying subscribers. Facebook Dating and Tinder have tested AI-powered matching as a response, hoping that more intelligent systems can counter burnout.

Hinge has leaned in as well. This week, the company launched an AI feature called “Convo Starters” to help users move past small talk. Earlier this year, Hinge introduced an AI recommendation system that, according to the company, drove a 15% increase in matches and contact exchanges in the first quarter.

Overtone fits into a broader shift underway across dating apps, where founders see AI as a potential reset. Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd has said she wants AI to become “the world’s smartest and most emotionally intelligent matchmaker in existence.” Last year, she floated the idea of users letting AI versions of themselves date on their behalf, an idea that quickly drew attention and criticism.

That tension — between convenience and control — sits at the center of the current wave of experimentation. Some features already push data boundaries. Match CEO Spencer Rascoff recently said that a key part of Tinder’s planned 2026 experience will be a feature called Chemistry, which, with user permission, would access camera rolls to learn more about people. The approach raises obvious privacy questions, especially at a moment when trust in tech companies remains thin.

McLeod hasn’t said much publicly about how Overtone plans to stand apart from existing apps. The company describes the product as helping people connect “in a more thoughtful and personal way,” using voice as a core input rather than endless profiles and photos. Whether that approach resonates or adds another layer to an already crowded space remains to be seen.

Jantos, now stepping into the CEO role at Hinge, has framed the company’s future around culture and trust, particularly with younger users.

“This is a generation that has grown up with a deep understanding of how digital experiences are created and what they are trying to get out of them,” Jantos said at TechCrunch at SXSW London earlier this summer.

In her statement announcing the leadership transition, she said, “Our focus will remain on intentional innovation that is grounded in culture, creativity, and a deep understanding of how people connect today.”

For McLeod, Overtone offers an opportunity to experiment without the burden of a mature consumer product. With Match Group as both a backer and a stakeholder, the startup begins with uncommon support. Whether it can do more than repackage dating with a new layer of AI will depend on how much control users are willing to give up and how personal they want technology to be in their search for connection.