We are delighted to welcome Mattr to HubPeople. Mattr is a wellbeing centred dating app, positioned as the first built to be neurodivergent friendly. Founded by dating expert and coach Jamie Johnston, it was created as an alternative to swipe led dating: it matches people on shared interests rather than behaviour, verifies every profile and builds in tools that support members' mental health.

Backed by operators from Bumble, Depop and Google, and an alumnus of the TRMNL4 and Meta 2025 cohorts, Mattr has built a loyal community across the UK, with a focus on London and Manchester.

Why It Matters

An estimated 15 to 20% of the UK population is neurodivergent, while one in five adults in England now lives with a common mental health condition such as anxiety or depression, up from one in six a decade earlier. Loneliness compounds both: autistic people are around four times more likely to be lonely than the general public, and research consistently finds higher loneliness among people with ADHD.

The partnership lets Mattr focus on the best outcomes for the neurodivergent community, without the cost, distraction and resources of maintaining its own technology stack.

A Bigger World for Mattr Members

  • Live in two weeks: the move onto HubPeople was completed in two weeks, with native iOS and Android apps alongside web and desktop access from day one.
  • Nothing lost: existing members keep their profiles, photos and interests, with no need to register again.
  • An international audience: members can now connect with a far larger pool of potential matches, well beyond London and Manchester.
  • More than dating: group chats, community Spaces for advice and friendship, and verified only chat rooms, all built around the same calm, pressure free approach that defines Mattr.

Jamie will continue to advise HubPeople on new features for the Mattr platform, helping adapt the experience for all neurodivergent users.

In Their Words

"We built Mattr because dating apps weren't working for a lot of people, especially neurodivergent people, who were being asked to perform in environments designed to keep them swiping rather than help them connect. Our community proved there is real demand for something kinder. Partnering with HubPeople means we can take that approach to a global audience, with far more people to meet and the kind of infrastructure that would have taken us years to build alone. The values stay exactly the same. The world just got a lot bigger."

Jamie Johnston, Founder and CEO, Mattr

"We're delighted to be partnering with Mattr and its inspirational founder, Jamie. We see enormous potential to improve dating experiences and outcomes for neurodivergent people, and believe this partnership will not only benefit the Mattr community but also help us better understand and support neurodivergent members across the wider HubPeople platform."

Michael O'Sullivan, Founder, HubPeople

Brand and Community Over Technology

Michael also explained why more dating businesses are choosing this route:

"Mergers and acquisitions across the dating industry have consistently demonstrated that the greatest drivers of business value are the strength of a brand and the size and engagement of its community, while proprietary technology stacks are increasingly viewed as liabilities rather than assets. By partnering with HubPeople, dating businesses like Mattr can focus their investment and resources on building brand equity and growing engaged communities, rather than maintaining costly technology infrastructure that may add little value, or even become a liability, in a future acquisition or exit."

It is a theme Jamie and Michael explored together on stage at GDI London 2026, on our panel asking whether smaller, focused audiences can build bigger businesses.

Sources: University of Nottingham policy brief, 2024; NHS Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2023/4, via Mind; National Autistic Society research and Quadt et al., Autism in Adulthood, 2024; scoping review of 82 studies, Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2026.

Running your own dating technology? Talk to us about moving your brand onto HubPeople, so you can spend your time and budget growing your community.

Talk to us → Visit Mattr