Video-First Dating App ‘Eight’ Raises €3M Seed Round

Eight, a Portuguese video dating app, is currently raising a €3 million seed funding round. Eight emphasizes live video interactions over traditional swiping and texting, and has already secured €256,600 toward its target.

The app operates on a unique daily schedule: it becomes active only between 8pm and 9pm each night. During this one-hour window, verified users can browse 30-second video introductions from other members and, if both parties agree, immediately start an 8-minute live video call. Text chat is only enabled after a successful call, deliberately moving users toward real-time conversation instead of prolonged messaging.

The app’s design philosophy is explicitly anti-engagement. It avoids infinite scrolling, dopamine-driven notifications, and streak mechanics. By limiting activity to a single shared hour each day, Eight aims to create scarcity and a sense of shared context among users. Naturally, this makes it a direct response to things like dating fatigue, providing an experience that’s intentiall more limited and forces users to make the most of the time that the app provides.

CEO Afonso Simão is a serial entrepreneur who previously founded Miofar, a fitness brand that reached over $1.2 million in revenue and 60,000 fulfilled orders before his exit. Co-founder Moreira da Cruz brings experience in sales, growth, digital marketing, and enterprise SaaS. Eight is currently available in Portugal and the United Kingdom. The founders plan to use the new funding to expand into Eastern Europe and the United States.