222 Raises $10.1M Series A to Combat Social Isolation
222, the AI-powered platform that facilitates real-life social encounters between strangers, has raised a $10.1 million Series A led by Upfront Ventures' Mark Suster. Pioneer Fund, Y Combinator, General Catalyst, Offline Ventures, Greg Isenberg, and Dropbox co-founder Arash Ferdowsi also participated in the round.
The company, which went through YC's W23 batch, had previously raised $3.6 million in seed funding from General Catalyst, Pioneer Fund, Y Combinator, Upfront Ventures, NEA, and 1517 Fund.
222 uses AI to match users based on personality assessments and then invites them to curated in-person experiences at local venues. The platform eschews profiles, DMs, and swiping in favor of algorithmically-arranged dinners, comedy shows, and other group activities.
"There's no more chance encounters, so the whole algorithm has always been about engineering chance."
That's how co-founder and COO Danial Hashemi describes the company's approach to tackling what he calls "the death of third places."
Founded by Hashemi, CEO Keyan Kazemian, and Arman Roshannai, the company started as a research project at USC, where the three founders tested their thesis by hosting dinners in Kazemian's backyard and using personality surveys to determine seating arrangements. Originally launched in Los Angeles, 222 has since expanded to New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, London, and Washington D.C.
The platform targets Gen Z users looking to form genuine connections outside of dating apps. With 16 employees and growing, 222 positions itself as explicitly "anti-Metaverse" — betting that the antidote to screen fatigue is more time spent face-to-face.