A music-based intelligent dating app has secured £1.5 million angel investment pre-launch.
The app, POM, already has more than 25,000 people waiting to use it, with a queue app available to those who have pre-registered.
The intelligent dating platform will officially launch on the 10th of August in London, with Manchester to follow, and will match users based on their Spotify or Apple Music libraries.
POM differs from other dating apps in how it uses intelligent technology, so that matches are made on psychological compatibility rather than purely aesthetic attraction.
So far, the app has had lots of interest, gaining on average 2,500 new members per week, and the queue app had more than 2,000 downloads in just two days.
The raise will go towards POM’s further development of its emotional algorithm technology, which matches users based on their imported music library and six seemingly random questions that will build the user’s emotional profile. After the first 15,000 users answer the questions, machine learning will make the process automated.
POM hopes to also build out its already impressive team of developers, some of which have previously worked at J.P. Morgan, IBM, Merlin and Columbia.
POM harnesses the ‘Power of Music’, channelling it into an exciting, inclusive app to deliver genuine, meaningful connections based on a shared love of the same music. In a dating scene dominated by swipe-lefts and swipe-rights, POM likes to do things differently and matches users based on their music history and emotional responses. The app uses this submitted data to curate a perfect end-to-end dating and social experience.
Vihan Patel, co-founder of POM said: “I first came up with the idea for POM at university, where I organised club nights. It became apparent that people behaved very differently depending on what type of night it was, a rock music or R&B-themed night for example.
“This influenced what they wore, what drinks they bought, and how they interacted with one another, which proves how instrumental music is to a person’s identity.
“That got me thinking music clearly plays a deeper role in who we are than most think. It’s a voice for emotion, and using music as a vehicle to understand emotion allows for a greater understanding of other people, and of course, potential partners.
“Matching people based on musical and psychological compatibility rather than on physical attraction is the way forward in the online dating world. I’m so excited to bring POM to the market and have been blown away by the interest so far at such an early stage.”