EIGHT targets €3 million Seed round for video-first dating push
Portuguese startup EIGHT is raising a €3 million Seed round to accelerate the growth of its video-first dating app, aiming to stand out in an increasingly crowded online dating market. The company has already secured more than €256.6k in commitments, signalling early investor confidence in its model and international potential.
A video-led alternative to swipe culture
EIGHT positions itself as an antidote to traditional swipe-based platforms by prioritising authentic video interactions over static photos and text bios. Users are encouraged to create short video profiles and engage through video prompts, helping daters form a more realistic impression before deciding to match or meet.
The startup argues that this approach reduces catfishing, improves user safety and increases the quality of matches. By bringing personality, voice and real-time expression into the discovery process, EIGHT aims to foster more meaningful connections and higher retention compared to legacy dating apps.
Scaling product, trust and international reach
The planned Seed funding will be used to strengthen the platform’s core technology, expand its engineering and product teams, and invest in privacy and content moderation capabilities. A significant portion of the capital is expected to go into user acquisition and brand-building in key European markets, positioning EIGHT as a regional challenger to global dating incumbents.
With online dating continuing to grow and younger demographics increasingly comfortable with short-form video, investors see an opportunity for a differentiated player that blends social video formats with relationship-focused matchmaking. The early traction of the round suggests that the market is receptive to a more human, video-centric evolution of digital dating.
Portugal’s startup scene gains another contender
The raise further highlights Portugal’s emergence as a hub for consumer technology and mobile-first platforms. If EIGHT successfully closes its €3 million Seed round and executes on its expansion plans, it could become one of the country’s next notable consumer-facing scaleups in the global dating and social discovery space.