If Bumble Wants to Make AI Human, It’s Time to Look to Anni
Opinion - Diranne Lee-Renwick - Founder + CEO
In her recent New York Times interview, Whitney Wolfe Herd laid out her vision for Bumble 2.0, which evolves beyond swipes and into self-discovery.
It’s no longer just about finding love. It’s about learning to love yourself, understanding your values through therapist-designed quizzes, attending IRL gatherings, and, perhaps most intriguingly, being guided by an AI-powered dating concierge. Digital guides that help users improve their profiles and their intentions and suggest values-based matches. Their goal? To become the “world’s smartest matchmaker.”
It’s a powerful pivot. And, knowingly or not, it puts Bumble on a strikingly similar path to what we’ve been building at Anni.
Because technology isn’t the revolution, the human experience is.
It’s a smart move and a welcome sign that even the biggest players are now recognising what so many users already feel: connection tech needs a human touch.
Sound familiar?
At Anni, we’ve believed this from day one. Our platform uses AI not to automate relationships but to reduce the friction in finding the right expert, be it a nutritionist, naturopath, sexologist or therapist, someone who can meet you with empathy, expertise and personalised advice. We call it askAnni, and it’s changing how people find care, clarity, and real support.
Like Bumble, we believe in the power of tech to cut through the noise. But unlike platforms built on volume and vanity, we optimise for trust, quality, and outcomes. Our experts aren’t just profiles; they’re professionals, real people with real-world experience. And our users aren’t metrics; they’re normal people looking for solutions, reassurance, or a breakthrough moment that changes everything.
Where Bumble once gave women “permission” to make the first move, its new era is about something deeper: helping people understand themselves first. That self-work, that reflection? That’s health and wellbeing. And that’s what Anni delivers every day, on demand.
Whitney says she wants to build “a love company.” I love that.
But love can’t be built in isolation from wellbeing. From hormonal health to heartbreak, burnout to breakouts, intimacy to identity, our team at Anni meets people where they are right now, not just in dating but in life.
Because sometimes the connection you need isn’t romantic.
It’s someone to listen.
Someone who gets it.
Someone who makes it better.
And yes, Anni makes it better.
So yes, I’m optimistic about Bumble’s pivot, and I’m glad to see a major player investing in values, in self-work, in slowing things down. It’s a shift toward substance, and it’s overdue.
At Anni, we’ve learned something simple:
If you want to build a more human future, you start by designing for it. That means thoughtful AI, real people, and a platform that knows connection isn’t the end goal; it’s the beginning of something better.
Anni makes it better ®
Human Intelligence ®
Anni is a digital health and wellbeing community that treats everything from broken sleep and fractured relationships as seriously as you treat broken bones. We blend the speed and convenience of AI with the warmth and trust of person-to-person support to offer you your own bespoke team of qualified experts, on hand with personalised and affordable advice, when and where you need it most.
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