It’s a Singaporean love story as dating app hooks up with matchmaking agency

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If you’re helping people meet their match every day, it’s only fair that you’re matched up with your dream partner yourself at some point. So Israeli-Singaporean dating startup WatchMe88 announced today it’s met its better half in dating agency Champagne SG, which acquired it for an undisclosed sum.

WatchMe88 co-founder Kineret Karin tells Tech in Asia the deal was all in cash.

The startup, founded in 2015 by Kineret and Yoav Elgrichi, was part of the Startup East accelerator, a program that aims to connect Israeli entrepreneurs with Asian markets. Kineret and Yoav are also heading social enterprise accelerator Tech For Good’s Singapore operations.

See: This accelerator wants to introduce Israeli startups and innovation to Asia

“Our investors wanted us to focus on Tech For Good and we also felt that we want to focus on helping other social tech startups create more impact while being sustainable and profitable,” Kineret says.

The founders will continue consulting with Champagne on the tech side but that will be the limit of their involvement as they prepare to bring Tech For Good to Thailand in November.

The founders will continue consulting with Champagne but will focus on Tech For Good.

WatchMe88 uses both mobile and wearable devices – specifically the Apple Watch – to help users find a nearby match.

Through this acquisition, Champagne adds a tech side to its own operation. “[They are] an offline service and they felt that technology can help them reach out to a much larger database and to many people that they have no access to,” Kineret says.

WatchMe88 will retain its branding under Champagne, and the new team will launch a new version of the app with “very unique technological features,” following a “breakthrough approach in harnessing technology for dating and matchmaking.” Kineret does not specify exactly what that means, citing confidentiality reasons.

She also does not share any details about WatchMe88’s traction before the acquisition, only saying it was good enough to get the startup noticed by Champagne. The app’s users come mainly from Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, and the Middle East.