Juleo Startup Closes Operations Due to Funding Shortage and Cash Crunch

Juleo, an online matchmaking platform, has ceased operations. After failing to get additional funding, the startup's cofounder Varun Sud announced on LinkedIn that the company is "pausing" its services. Sud boasted that the company had created a fraud-proof AI matchmaker, identified the product-market fit, and helped unite Indian individuals in marriage and committed partnerships. Regrettably, the company's idea has not been able to entice institutional investors due to the baggage from previous failures in the space.

Juleo’s Funding and Operations

In August 2024, Juleo successfully raised $2.5 million at a financing round. Investors such as Groww's Harsh Jain and Lalit Keshre, Acko's Ruchi Deepak, Livspace's Ramakant Sharma, and CRED's Kunal Shah were among those that contributed to the fundraising round. Sud has dropped hints that he may launch a new business in the "consumer AI space" in the near future.

Juleo was a subscription-based matchmaking service that Sud and Chiranjeev Ghai founded in 2023. Its digital services were eventually supplemented with actual community events and activities for singles. Genie, its AI-powered matchmaker, chose possible matches and oversaw the nuts and bolts of setting up rendezvous. In addition, women had discretion over their visibility since their profiles were set to private by default. The app has over 5 lakh installations, 1.5 lakh "Club" applicants, and several "Juleo weddings and relationships" in India, according to the startup.

Juleo’s Competitors

Juleo faced competition in India from Match Group's other dating apps, including Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, and OkCupid. On top of that, it faced competition from a slew of domestic firms like Aisle and Truly Madly. Juleo is just one of several startups that have gone out of business recently. Data from startup intelligence platform Tracxn shows that there was an 81% decrease in startup closures from 3,903 in 2024 to 733 as of December 31.

From a high of 66.8 billion USD in 4,830 rounds in 2021 to a low of 33.2 billion USD in 3,760 rounds in 2023, startup investment declined dramatically. In 2024, funding climbed slightly to USD 37.6 billion across 3,690 rounds, and in 2025, it stayed around the same level, at USD 38.7 billion across 2,420 rounds. But investors are much pickier now, valuing quality and viability over scale, since the number of fundraising rounds has dropped dramatically from around 5,000 in 2021–2022 to only 2,420 in 2025. In the face of fiercer competition in the home-help market, another company this year, Pync, also went out of business.