User:Betterhalfai/sandbox

= Introduction = Betterhalf.ai is an Indian matrimonial platform, especially made for urban Indians, founded by Pawan Gupta and Rahul Kumar Namdev in August 2016 and based out of Bengaluru. Betterhalf is India’s first and only AI-based matrimony app where young urban professionals can search their partner without any involvement of parents.

= History = Betterhalf was founded in August 2016 by two MIT alums, Pawan and Rahul, with a mission to build the world's largest partner prediction engine. In 2015, both of them were searching for their life partner on available traditional matrimonial and dating apps. And that’s when they conceived of this idea and decided to redefine the concept of arranged marriages in India.

= Etymology = In betterhalf.ai, AI stands for Artificial Intelligence since the platform uses the power of Machine Learning and AI to help people find, connect and communicate with potential betterhalf.

= Developments = Based on a subscription-based business model, Betterhalf is used by more than 50,000 users between the age group of 25-36 years daily. Betterhalf has an overall user base of more than 7 lakh urban millennials who visit the app 6-7 times per day.

In June 2021, Betterhalf recorded monthly revenue of $75,000 from $10,000 in just 9 months with a growth of 25% per month.

As of July 2021, the monthly user activity on the Betterhalf app has grown from 20K MAU to 150K MAU. Betterhalf has made more than 5,000 successful marriages and over a million matches until now and this number has been increasing each day.

In July 2021, Betterhalf announced the appointment of Mr. Biru Kumar, one of the founding members of Hansel.io and former associate director of technology at LIDO, as the Senior Director of Engineering. The reason behind his inclusion in the company was to ensure faster shipment of products and reduce the time for new product releases.

In August 2021, Betterhalf launched a new AR Filter on Instagram - ‘My Future Partner’ which went so viral that within 90 days of its release, it got 477.3M impressions without spending a single penny. Users can predict how their future partners will look with this AR filter.

= Funding Round = In 2018, Betterhalf raised $2.3 million in a seed funding round from investors like Google India MD Shailesh Rao and former investment director of Flipkart Rehan A Khan. ( https://analyticsindiamag.com/dating-startup-betterhalf-ai-raises-500000-in-seed-funding/ )

In May 2021, Betterhalf raised $3 million as part of its pre-series A funding round from venture capital firms and marquee investors like Kunal Shah, founder of CRED and Samvit Ramadurgam. After this funding round, the company aimed to achieve a revenue run rate of $5 million for the next series A round.

= Controversy = In November 2021, a male user created a profile on Betterhalf who sought a bride with qualities like "5'2 to 5'6" and measured "32B to 32C, size 12-16 (waist) and size 6-7 (feet). In his controversial and offensive bio, this user listed several other problematic qualities like the bride should be fun but down to earth also, must have or love dogs and no kids, etc. After the screenshots of the user's profile went viral on social media platforms, Betterhalf immediately took down the profile for violating the platform’s terms and conditions.

Once the controversy did go around on social media, Betterhalf posted a Twitter post and LinkedIn video. The company’s co-founder and CEO Pawan Gupta said that he talked with the user to make him understand the reason behind taking his profile down. He also said that his company is committed to provide safety on the platform, especially to female users.

= References =


 * 1) https://www.livemint.com/companies/start-ups/betterhalfai-records-monthly-revenue-of-75k-from-7-5k-in-9-months-11625299765232.html
 * 2) https://www.freepressjournal.in/viral/betterhalfai-to-boost-user-verification-after-backlash-from-netizens-over-obscene-matrimonial-ad (Controversy related)
 * 3) https://www.ndtv.com/offbeat/matrimonial-ad-seeks-bride-with-specific-bra-and-waist-size-draws-internets-ire-2622492  (About the recent controversy)
 * 4) https://analyticsindiamag.com/this-ai-powered-dating-app-betterhalf-ai-helps-users-find-the-perfect-life-partner/
 * 5) https://analyticsindiamag.com/dating-startup-betterhalf-ai-raises-500000-in-seed-funding/ - Article about the Seed funding
 * 6) https://analyticsindiamag.com/y-combinator-backed-ai-startup-betterhalf-ai-raises-3-mn/ - This is also about the second round of funding.
 * 7) https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/social/betterhalf-ai-now-let-artificial-intelligence-find-that-perfect-match-for-you-5137081/ (Detailed description about the app)
 * 8) https://www.dailypioneer.com/2021/vivacity/still-fair-and-lovely-.html
 * 9) https://www.pinkvilla.com/tech/news/best-matrimonial-apps-that-will-assist-you-in-finding-the-best-one-for-you-872373