Weave, the Tinder-like app for professionals who want to network, today announced that it is integrating the Uber API into its service.
Weave lets users swipe through cards of nearby people that they could potentially meet up with. If two people happen to swipe “yes” with each other, Weave opens up a channel between them to help initiate an in-person meeting.
Now, the app can automatically recognize when an address is entered into a conversation between two users and an button to take an Uber will automatically pop-up. Options for different Uber services — uberX, Uber Black, etc. — will be available, as well as an estimated time of arrival.
Weave CEO Brian Ma, who lives in San Francisco but is a Seattle native and previously co-founded Decide.com, said he knows many Weave users who use Uber when they meet up.
“We just wanted to make it even more convenient for our users by allowing them to grab an Uber straight from the Weave app,” he said.
Weave is one of many other apps taking advantage of Uber’s API, which the on-demand transportation company made available this past August. The API can provide financial benefits for developers, as Uber allows them to sign up as an affiliate and earn money whenever one of their users takes a ride.
Weave, which raised $630,000 in seed funding led by Vulcan Capital last year, is facilitating more than 10,000 matches per month and has logged four million swipes in the system. The app pulls in data from LinkedIn and uses a simple algorithm to help users match up with people that they’re more likely to be interested in meeting.
Ma started Weave because he was frustrated with how difficult it was to meet people in the Seattle startup community. The original idea actually came from Zillow Digs, which had a “hot or not” type of app for houses. Once he saw how quickly Tinder caught on with users, Ma knew that Weave could work for entrepreneurs and other professionals that wanted an easy way to link up.
“We hear success stories about people getting hired or funded every single week,” Ma said.
The Bay Area-based startup, which employs six, also has a huge amount of data — some of which we’ve highlighted on GeekWire.
“Building a good professional network has always been a daunting task,” Ma added. “We’re here to make it a little bit easier.”
