Home-swapping network Kindred plans to put a dating app’s matching technology to work for its members. The startup has acquired dating app Mango and hired its founder, Bryan Li. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Kindred says it will use Mango’s proprietary technology to expand its matching capabilities for home swaps.
Subscribe to our newsletter below
In his new role as Kindred’s chief technology officer, Li will oversee the development of Kindred’s technology platform and lead the engineering team. He was previously director of engineering at LinkedIn and Tinder.
“Home swapping harnesses the power of human connection to make travel more accessible,” says Li, who founded Mango in 2021. “I look forward to working with the team to realize this worthy vision.”
Unlike on vacation rental platforms, all Kindred members must host their own home so “everyone has skin in the game,” according to the startup. Also, there is no financial exchange between guest and host.
Kindred says it has “rapidly expanded” and surpassed 2,000 member nights booked since coming out of stealth mode, a period when startups operate without public attention, in April. The company landed a $7.75 million seed funding round in May.
Based in San Francisco, the members-only network was founded by Justine Palefsky and Tasneem Amina in 2021.