Hong Kong-listed firm behind Yumy dating app is going to town with the metaverse
- Newborn Town is testing metaverse features for its dating app Yumy, which has 30 million users outside China
- A host of dating apps have tapped into the metaverse trend to make the online dating experience more immersive
Newborn Town, a little-known mainland Chinese company focused on social apps for markets outside China, wants to help people hook up in the metaverse.
After launching beta testing last November, the Hong Kong-listed company released more details on Thursday about a feature called Meta Town, that will be incorporated into its dating app Yumy.
The app has had over 30 million worldwide downloads since launching in early 2021, with some of the best performing markets being Egypt, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand and Britain, according to the company, which was founded in 2009.
Users taking part in the beta test have been able to create avatars based on their photo, find other virtual figures, and engage in audio conversations that are supported by artificial intelligence-powered translation. The latter function allows users who speak different languages to have “barrier-free, immersive social experiences”, the company said in a statement.
“The metaverse is the future of social networking,” Wei He, vice-president of Newborn Town, said in the statement. “We will keep exploring technological innovation and applications … and bring experiences that are authentic, efficient and immersive.”
The company said it will partner with Digital Dream Valley, the Chinese firm behind a virtual version of the late Taiwanese singer Teresa Teng for a new year gala presented by state-owned Jiangsu Broadcasting Corp, to develop virtual characters and 3D social scenarios.