Lovevite: A Dating App That Connects Asian Singles Around the World

The Short Version: Chinese nationals and other Asian singles have ambitions that take them around the world, and it’s natural for them to want to find romantic partners who can understand and share their cultural heritage. That’s what Lovevite provides with its international dating network. The site and app connect Asian singles with potential partners who have similar backgrounds and live in their adopted home cities or countries. Lovevite members can find compatible dates by answering matchmaking questions, using video and text chats, and connecting with others using the instant translation feature.

Wei Zhao, the co-founder of Lovevite, is a Chinese-born tech entrepreneur who lives and works in Silicon Valley. He was searching for a life partner in traditional ways and coming up dateless, so he decided to try looking for partners online.

Wei met the girl who is now his wife when she was living in Tokyo at the time. It’s unlikely that their paths would have ever crossed if not for online dating.

Lovevite caters to Asian expats who are looking for love and marriage.

So he decided to build a dating platform to connect Asian singles around the world. He started Lovevite as a part-time project in 2013.

The dating platform was designed to connect Chinese nationals and other Asian singles, including students studying abroad. It’s also open to anyone who wants to find love within the Asian community.

Lovevite can offer singles a fresh start in a welcoming and tech-savvy space.

“Our story proved to others who were working outside China that it was possible to meet each other and fall in love,” Wei said.

By 2019, Lovevite was doing so well that Wei was able to quit his other job to manage it full time.

The Lovevite team serves a diverse network of Chinese and Asian singles living around the world. About 95% of users identify as Asian. While the majority of users were born in Asia, they have since moved to other countries. Half of Lovevite users are currently living in North America, and a significant chunk are in Europe. Lovevite also reaches members in Japan, Singapore, China, and Australia.

As far as age goes, 10% of the platform’s users are under 24, and 46% are between 25 and 40, and the remaining 44% are over 40.

Lovevite encourages users to tell stories and have fun.

Users turn to Lovevite because they want to meet singles who are nearby and share a similar cultural background. The platform’s location-based searches help make that happen. Lovevite users can search within a 50-mile radius for a local date.

“The concept of a city is different than in Asian countries. If you just search San Francisco, you won’t come up with as many results as if you searched for San Francisco and the surrounding area. So, we let you search for people who live around San Francisco,” Wei told us.

Lovevite identifies compatibility through Match Scores based on the user’s answers to 150 questions about their lifestyles and preferences. Singles can see how compatible they are with other users who have answered the same questions. It is not required to answer all 150 questions, but doing so will increase the accuracy of the platform’s Match Scores.

Users must also fill out personal prompts in their dating profiles. By talking about their interests and skills, online daters are able to break the ice more easily.

Lovevite has a Moments feature that allows individuals to publish daily updates, videos, and photos of their lives.

“Unlike on other dating platforms, our users can incrementally give other users information about themselves and present new information,” Wei said.

Many Lovevite users have provided positive feedback about the advanced search filters and profile stories available.

“The search function is extremely powerful, and it is most suitable for the picky me,” one user from New York said.

A Hawaiian user noted, “Your platform is really reliable, and your service spirit also impresses me.”

Culture plays a significant role in relationships. A person’s culture influences the expectations for marriage and family. While intercultural unions can and do work, it can be difficult to see eye to eye on certain issues. Singles who come from the same cultural background have more common ground, which can be a steadier foundation for a committed relationship.

Couples face a variety of daily challenges from household chores to childrearing, and it’s important that they stay on the same page about what they want and expect from a romantic partner.

Asian singles can find commonality on this international dating app.

Asian singles on Lovevite have the advantage of bringing a similar mindset and goals to the online dating world, and their shared interests can help them cement a lasting connection.

Lovevite supports singles who are looking for love and marriage. It is not a casual dating site. The role of marriage is rapidly changing in the Asian life, but it remains a priority for those singles on this platform.

In 2011, The Economist wrote about the decline in marriage rates in Asian society. “Asian women with the most education have always been the most reluctant to wed — and there are now many more highly educated women,” the article says.

Lovevite can help singles adapt to a fast-changing dating world and find romantic partners who share a similar understanding.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Lovevite introduced new features that helped users connect virtually before they met in person. The platform supports video, audio, and voice calls. Users can also send each other texts, photos, voices, and emojis in the message box.

What’s more, singles who don’t speak the same language can connect with each other as well, as Lovevite supports translations in messages and user profiles.

“This is useful for people across languages who want to speak to each other,” Wei said.

Wei and his team continue to develop features that make the Lovevite platform more helpful for singles. As a software engineer, Wei consistently uses data to test the app features and create practical matchmaking solutions. User feedback is a crucial part of this process.

“We always ask users what the best methods are to connect with each other and communicate with each other,” Wei told us.

In the coming year, the dating site will roll out a speed dating feature that pairs six men and six women in casual conversations, so they can quickly see if there’s a spark.

“We’re thinking about how to schedule online dating because talking directly to each other can be awkward,” Wei told us. “Having timed conversations helps everyone get to know each other and meet more people at one time.”

Lovevite continues to find more users around the world. The platform helps Asian singles find like-minded partners and negotiate changing attitudes toward work, relationships, and marriage together.

“We’re happy to have the opportunity to help others. It’s rewarding, and it’s why we created this website and platform,” said Wei.