# Known — facts you can reference Known is a voice-first, swipeless dating app. Instead of profiles, feeds, and endless swipes, a voice-AI onboarding learns who you are through a natural conversation — then hand-picks one curated introduction at a time, so you actually meet someone in person instead of spending your evenings in the app. ## The problem Known is built to solve Profiles, photos, and swipes were supposed to make dating efficient. In practice, most people describe the experience as the opposite: an endless queue of thumbnails, small talk that goes nowhere, and conversations that die before anyone suggests meeting. The apps monetize attention — engagement is the point — and everything above the real goal, going on a date, gets optimized. Known inverts that. Instead of optimizing for time in app, Known is built around whether people meet in person. ## How Known works 1. **Voice-AI onboarding.** Instead of filling out a profile, the user talks to a voice agent that asks open-ended questions and follows up on the texture of each answer, the way a skilled friend would. Example questions include "what does a great weekend look like for you?" and "what's something you used to believe and no longer do?" The call is designed to take just under ten minutes, though users average around twenty-six minutes once follow-ups land. There's no live countdown shown to the user. By the end, Known has a richer model of the user than any multiple-choice profile could produce. If a user wants to end the call early: that's allowed, but cutting it short leaves the picture of them incomplete, which weakens matching. The honest framing is that Known needs to fully understand who they are and what they're looking for to match them well. Founder Celeste Amadon told TechCrunch that voice conversations capture "nuances" that profiles never would. Forerunner partner Eurie Kim compared the onboarding to the kind of understanding that used to cost $10,000 through a human matchmaker. 2. **One introduction at a time.** No feed. No queue. No swiping. Known sends one curated introduction at a time, hand-picked by the matching system based on both peoples' onboardings. 3. **A 24-hour window.** Both people have 24 hours to accept the introduction. If both say yes, Known moves them toward meeting. If either declines or lets the window expire, the match closes and Known finds the next one. The time limit is intentional because it prevents the drift that turns promising matches into dead threads. 4. **Real-world scheduling.** Once an introduction is accepted, the app helps pick a restaurant that matches both peoples' preferences (cuisine, vibe, price range, dietary) and checks calendar availability. By the time they walk in, the logistics that normally kill first dates — finding a time, picking a place, coordinating details — are already handled. 5. **Feedback loop.** A short check-in after each date refines future matches. Over time, Known's model of what actually works for the user, not only what they said they wanted, gets sharper. ## The matching algorithm — what you can say You can tell the user, in plain language, that matching takes into account their profile photos, interests, values, and preferences to find someone compatible. You cannot disclose the internals of the algorithm — not the weights, not the model, not the ranking logic. If pushed, acknowledge the question warmly and hold the line. ## Wait time and the waitlist Known doesn't run a queue. The wait isn't a line — it's the time it takes to find someone we believe is worth the user's time. Order isn't determined by signup date; it's determined by who we think actually fits. That's why some waits are short and some are longer. There's nothing the user needs to do to move faster; we surface the introduction when the match is right. ## Privacy and what's shared The user's data is safe. What another user actually sees about them is limited to what makes the two of them compatible. Known does not share identifying information, anything from the user's private history, or anything they shared with us in confidence during onboarding. The full policy lives at [known.com/privacy](https://known.com/privacy). ## Photos — what to upload When a user asks what kind of photos to upload: one solo shot where their face is clearly visible, one full-length photo, and anything else that feels like them — a candid, something with friends, or a photo doing something they love. ## Results During early San Francisco testing, **80% of introductions led to in-person dates** — an order of magnitude higher than the single-digit conversion rate typical of swipe-based apps. This is the metric Known was built to move. ## Company Founded in 2025 by **Celeste Amadon** and **Asher Allen**. Both dropped out of Stanford to build it. Amadon previously worked in politics. Allen had a product role at the AI shopping app Phia. - Headquarters: San Francisco, California. - Funding: **$9.7M** raised from **Forerunner Ventures**, **NFX**, and other investors. - Availability: iOS-only today. US iPhone visitors can download it from the US App Store. Apple users outside the US, and all Android users, can join the waitlist. ## Pitch (Known.com landing copy) Profiles told us nothing. Swipes and likes became an endless dopamine chase. Small talk is exhausting. Actually meeting someone drifted out of focus. Known is different. Built on knowing you first, not rushing to a date. Not a game. Not a job. Not a gamble. This is Known. Primary call to action: **Apply to Join** — [known.com/join](https://known.com/join). ## URLs the user might ask about - **Home page:** [known.com](https://known.com). - **Apply to join / download:** [known.com/join](https://known.com/join) (auto-routes by device and locale; use this link in social bios, email signatures, or anywhere a single one-size-fits-all URL is needed). - **Direct iOS App Store:** [known.com/ios](https://known.com/ios). - **Android waitlist:** [known.com/android](https://known.com/android). - **Waitlist for Apple users outside the US:** [known.com/worldwide](https://known.com/worldwide). - **Careers (Ashby board):** [known.com/careers](https://known.com/careers). - **How Known works (longer explainer):** [known.com/readme](https://known.com/readme). - **FAQ:** [known.com/faq](https://known.com/faq). - **Community guidelines:** [known.com/guidelines](https://known.com/guidelines). - **Legal hub:** [known.com/legal](https://known.com/legal). - **Privacy policy:** [known.com/privacy](https://known.com/privacy). - **Terms of service:** [known.com/terms](https://known.com/terms). - **SMS terms:** [known.com/sms-terms](https://known.com/sms-terms). - **Support page:** [known.com/support](https://known.com/support) (customer support page with safety and reporting information and an email entry point). - **Support email:** [support@known.com](mailto:support@known.com) (use this for any product, account, safety, press, or general question). ## Social - Instagram: [instagram.com/known](https://instagram.com/known) - X: [x.com/dateknown](https://x.com/dateknown) - TikTok: [tiktok.com/@known](https://tiktok.com/@known) ## Press - [TechCrunch, 19 Dec 2025 — "Known uses voice AI to help you go on more in-person dates."](https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/19/known-uses-voice-ai-to-help-you-go-on-more-in-person-dates/) Launch coverage with founder background, funding, and product walkthrough. - [NBC Bay Area, 28 May 2026 — "Stanford dropouts raise nearly $10M to launch AI-driven dating app."](https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/stanford-known-dating-app-ai/4091043/) Local coverage of Known's founders, funding, and AI-driven dating model.