SAN FRANCISCO — Connectivity Solutions startup Bondr announced Tuesday the launch of its Premium Connection Plan, a $29-per-month subscription service that the company says will "definitively solve the loneliness epidemic" through a proprietary algorithm it calls the Human Resonance Engine™.
"We've identified loneliness as a $1.2 trillion problem," said CEO Marcus Thiel at a press event held in a converted warehouse decorated with Edison bulbs and a neon sign reading "TOGETHER." "And like all trillion-dollar problems, it's really just a data problem."
The Premium Connection Plan offers subscribers access to Bondr's network of "Certified Connection Partners" — a term the company uses for people who have agreed to be paid $18 per hour to have conversations with subscribers. The company emphasizes that these are "authentic human interactions," distinguishing them from AI chatbots by noting that the Connection Partners are "technically human."
The service includes three tiers. The Basic tier ($29/month) provides access to text-based conversations with Connection Partners during business hours. The Plus tier ($49/month) adds video calls and what the company describes as "emotional availability windows." The Premium tier ($89/month) includes a dedicated Connection Partner who will remember your name and "up to three personal details" about your life.
The real human travel community has been skeptical. "I've found that the most meaningful connections I've made have been in places where I wasn't paying anyone to talk to me," said one travel writer who asked not to be named. "But I'm probably not the target demographic."
Bondr's pitch deck, which was shared with investors last month and subsequently leaked to several tech publications, describes the company's mission as "democratizing connection" and includes a slide titled "The Loneliness Funnel" that maps the journey from "isolated individual" to "Bondr Premium subscriber" to "fulfilled human being."
The company has raised $47 million in Series B funding from investors who describe themselves as "deeply committed to human flourishing." The funding will be used to expand the Connection Partner network, develop the Human Resonance Engine™, and "build out the brand experience," which appears to mean opening physical Bondr lounges in major cities where subscribers can pay an additional fee to be lonely in a nicer environment.
The content culture response has been mixed. Several influencers have posted sponsored content about their "Bondr journey," describing the service as "life-changing" in posts that are required by FTC guidelines to include the hashtag #BondrPartner. The comments on these posts are, by most accounts, the most authentic human connection happening on the platform.
When asked whether the service might be addressing symptoms rather than causes of loneliness, Thiel said that Bondr was "not in the business of causes" and that the company was "focused on outcomes." He then excused himself to take a call from a Connection Partner who was, he explained, "checking in."
The youth culture response has been more direct. "This is just paying someone to be your friend," said one 23-year-old who was interviewed outside the press event. "Which, I mean, people have always done that. They just used to call it therapy."
Bondr's app is available on iOS and Android. The company reports that its Net Promoter Score is "proprietary" and that user retention data is "not something we're sharing at this time." The cultural commentary on this will write itself, the company noted, and they are not paying anyone to do it.