AI agents, IRL socializing, and vibe coding: Where top consumer investors are placing bets

Investors are hunting for societal media startups that tin spark caller connections and nurture existing ones.

"Social media companies started based connected connection," Shawn Carolan, a partner astatine Menlo Ventures, said of the erstwhile activity of giants for illustration Facebook and Instagram.

Carolan said these companies "evolved into media companies" and abandoned that connection.

That leaves an opening successful the market.

Venture capitalists astatine awesome firms for illustration Menlo, Forerunner, and A16z person respective investors dedicated to backing caller and innovative internet startups. Other firms, for illustration Verdict Capital and Premise, were founded by partners astatine firms for illustration General Catalyst, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and NEA, who wanted to group retired connected their ain pinch finance theses focused connected backing consumer-facing startups building for the AI era.

Niko Bonatsos, cofounder and managing head of Verdict Capital, said that AI is allowing startup founders to "reimagine full categories" and build "so overmuch faster."

Business Insider precocious highlighted 22 VC firms backing social startups successful our 3rd yearly list. They've invested successful startups successful broader categories specified arsenic societal media, AI assistants, and making love apps.

So, wherever precisely are these apical investors placing bets?

Here are 5 categories investors are betting on:

1. Vibe coding — but make it social

Kids and teens are "vibe coding apps," Vanessa Larco, cofounder of Premise, told Business Insider.

She's 1 of respective investors intimately watching really vibe coding is being adopted by younger net users.

Startups for illustration Wabi and Sekai — which are building platforms wherever group tin vibe codification mini apps, past stock and remix them — person raised millions of dollars from firms for illustration Khosla, A16z, and Connect Ventures.

"People don't want to conscionable watch anymore. They want to create," Connect Ventures' Nicole Quinn said, who invested successful Sekai.

Gaming is different opportunity successful this category, pinch devices for illustration Lemonade (an AI supplier for creating Roblox mini-games) and ForgeGUI (an AI-powered crippled creation instrumentality for developers) receiving investments from Menlo Ventures and Verdict Capital, respectively.

As Menlo's Amy Wu Martin put it: When the barriers to coding spell down, consumers person the realization — "I tin make worldly for myself."

It's shifting integer culture, too. Creators who make contented astir vibe coding aliases vibe codification caller apps themselves are emerging.

"Apps are going to beryllium the caller media," Patron's Amber Atherton said.

2. New ways to find love

For these VCs, there's emotion successful the air.

A new people of making love apps is challenging the mainstays for illustration Tinder and Bumble. The AI making love app Overtone comes from an icon of the aged guard: Hinge laminitis Justin McLeod. FirstMark's Rick Heitzmann contributed to the company's $18 cardinal raise.

"Probably a twelvemonth ago, personification would've said 'dating,' I would've been like, 'Ugh, it's a horrible category,'" Heitzmann said. "But past you meet personification who's thought astir the world wholly differently, much originally, and amended than you have, and it changes your mind."

Many of these startups committedness that AI will thief easiness the awkwardness of dating, either done civilization matchmaking aliases wingman-style assistants. The AI app Sitch is backed by A16z Speedrun and Premise. Its cofounder, Chad DePue, is an investor for Uncommon Projects.

There's besides Known, an AI making love work pinch audio matchmakers, backed by Forerunner Ventures.

Other apps committedness users a amended making love excavation aliases matching strategy, for illustration the Seven Seven Six-backed Left Field, which pairs based connected shared interests and communities.

3. Social apps that get you extracurricular alternatively of online

There is simply a bounty of caller societal startups pinch the sole intent of getting group disconnected their screens.

"People are benignant of emotion exhausted and possibly a small spot tense astir AI," Precursor's Marina Girgis said. "They want to put their phones down and link pinch group IRL."

Abstract Ventures, for instance, backed 2 societal apps built astir maps: Corner, for uncovering and sharing local spots, and Amo, a French app workplace down Bump, which lets you way friends.

Meanwhile, Posh, a level for IRL events and ticketing, announced a $37 cardinal Series B information led by FirstMark Capital successful March.

There are much niche apps for activities, too, for illustration Sweatpals for fittingness and wellness, and Swsh for sharing contented astatine unrecorded events for illustration euphony festivals aliases sporting events.

"As we each thin into AI and we're much businesslike pinch the productivity gains of AI, quality beings will person much disposable time," Quinn said. "How do they for illustration to walk disposable time? It's doing what they love."

4. AI companions and individual assistants to thief you connect

What if AI agents could really make our societal lives a small spot easier? It's a large mobility — and it's still dense connected the if — but immoderate investors are placing early bets connected this space.

Town, an AI individual adjunct for managing inboxes and calendars, announced a $55 cardinal Series A successful June. Both A16z and Forerunner participated successful the round.

While Town is presently focused connected professionals, location are adjunct startups for families, too, for illustration Ollie, which helps parents negociate family tasks.

If group commencement to usage these AI assistants and companions much and springiness these devices entree to troves of individual data, location could beryllium immoderate unsocial societal applications.

"Someone's going to build this benignant of god-like companion that knows everyone and is omnipresent," Shine Capital's Ethan Daly said.

Menlo Ventures' Carolan said he's fascinated by AI-era startups reinventing "the contacts book" to thief group connect.

Babylon's Hugo Amsellem sees imaginable successful AI acting arsenic an intermediary betwixt people. He invested successful Eigen, a startup that announced $15 cardinal successful seed backing this twelvemonth for an AI "mutual friend."

The abstraction is still rather nascent, however.

5. Entertainment pinch an AI twist

From euphony to gaming, intermezo platforms are getting supercharged by AI.

For example, Suno, a platform for making and sharing AI-generated music, has raised hundreds of millions of dollars and announced it was weighted astatine $5.4 cardinal successful June. Menlo Ventures led the company's Series C successful 2025.

There's besides Lore, a fandom level powered by AI search, which provides group a caller measurement to "rabbit hole" astir their latest popular civilization obsessions, "instead of conscionable doing it successful Google," said Precursor's Girgis.

Then location are caller societal gaming apps for illustration Status, an AI mobile gaming startup that lets group role-play arsenic characters, backed by Abstract Ventures and Creator Ventures.

Building a caller societal app? Have a tip? Contact Sydney Bradley by email ([email protected]), encrypted messaging app Signal (@sydneykbradley.123), aliases encrypted email ([email protected]).