Reykjavik, Iceland-based Smitten, a dating app, announced on Thursday that it has secured $10M (approximately €10M) in a Series A round of funding.
Investors in the round include Makers Fund, Possible Ventures, Wonder Invest, and current shareholders ByFounders, ProFounders, Tennin, and Smitten’s board member and Vivino founder Heini Zachariassen.
The company says it will use the funds to grow its team and expand to new markets.
Smitten: What you need to know
Founded by David Simonarson and Asgeir Visir, Smitten mixes games, entertainment, and flirting to jumpstart conversations and help users engage more seamlessly.
“My co-founder, Asgeir, and I share an intense interest in how people connect and communicate,” says David Simonarson, Smitten Co-Founder and CEO. “After years of creating social consumer apps, we fell in love with the online dating space and launched Smitten in 2020. We created personality-based games and fun interactive profiles to make it easy for strangers to form meaningful connections. Seeing how much our users love Smitten, we believe we can become the leading player in online dating for Generation Z.”
The Iceland company says it has struck a chord with Gen Zers with more than 200M swipes and a 30 per cent stickiness rate. The platform helps users get into the conversation as easily as swiping through games, interactive profiles, and icebreakers.
“Our questionnaire game, Guessary, allows you to get to know the other person you are viewing by guessing how they answered a series of Yes-and-No questions,” explains Asgeir Visir, Smitten co-founder and designer.
“These games are designed for users to get to know the person they are viewing before deciding if they want to like them. And the beautiful part is when you match with someone, the results of the games are posted in the chat and act as an icebreaker, making it so much easier to initiate a fun conversation,” he adds.
The company claims to have more than 60 per cent of matches result in a post-match interaction, compared to 11 per cent on other apps, including Tinder.
Investor
Makers Fund is a global interactive entertainment venture capital firm focused on early-stage investments. It is dedicated to furthering growth and innovation in the interactive entertainment industry.
“Social discovery and gaming is an increasingly interesting intersection, and the team at Smitten has created an amazingly fun experience that truly strikes a chord with young adults,” says Alli Ottarson, Makers’ lead on the deal. “Having spent time building a strong relationship with the founders David and Ásgeir, we have been privileged to a front row seat to follow Smitten´s success. We share a common vision for how the next generation will meet and interact, and we’re thrilled to be a part of the Smitten journey.”
