Pie, an AI-driven social application, uses AI algorithm to solve offline dating problems

Andy Dunn, founder of Bonobos online fashion retailer, has turned his attention from fashion to socializing, and his latest project Pie is a social app focused on real-life human connections. With a $11.5 million Series A funding round, Pie has more than 130,000 monthly active users, although currently only available in San Francisco and Chicago. However, with the increase in the number of users, how to solve the problem of the large number of offline event participants and difficulty in socializing effectively has become a new challenge for Pie.

To solve this problem, Pie acquired two founders, Samir Mahafzah and Sam Stubbs, who developed an AI-powered quiz tool called Sparked Connections. The tool uses personality tests to predict who participants get along best with in specific social events, and divides them into six-person groups to get to know each other in Pie's group chat in advance.

For example, in Pie's "Drinking Coffee with Strangers" activity, participants answer a series of personality test questions about emotional recognition, and the AI ​​algorithm grouped them based on the test results. Dunn said that through ChatGPT and user feedback, they gradually understood why people hit it off and believed that without AI, it would be a nearly impossible problem.

As Americans’ concerns about loneliness grow, using AI algorithms to help people make friends seems to be a trend. In fact, many people are already stepping into their social life through platforms like Instagram or Bumble. Pie appears in the hope of helping people build real social connections more efficiently through the power of AI.