Skip to content
Best Place To BuildBest Place To Build

Valentine's Day Special: Building Human Connections, one pair at a time; S. Anil Kumar, Jodi365

In today’s episode of the Best Place to Build Podcast, we continue the theme of the last few episodes - Builders who are building something unconventional. Today’s guest on the podcast is building human connections through a personalised matchmaking service. Yes, you read it right. Anil Kumar is the founder of Jodi365, a matchmaking service that he has built over 15+ years. Anil is an IIT Madras alumnus whose journey spans a PhD, marine consulting in the US, an MBA from Booth, and eventually a deeply personal realisation: professional success does not automatically translate to personal fulfilment. Join Amrut as he speaks to Anil about not just dating, culture, technology, ambition, heartbreak, and building solutions rooted in lived experience. Of course, AI finds it place in this conversation as well as our guest talks about its role in building matches. In this episode: Why matchmaking is still an unsolved problem How technology changed relationships - for better and worse Swiping fatigue, paradox of choice, and authenticity in an AI era Why being the right partner matters more than finding the right one How Anil is blending human intuition with AI to scale personalized matchmaking If you’re interested in how technology intersects with culture, psychology, and long-term decision-making, this conversation is worth your time. Also, this conversation broke the record of our longest-ever podcast episode! Chapters: [00:01:16] Intro [00:01:51] How does Anil Kumar describe what Jodi365 is? [00:07:52] Why is matchmaking a problem to be solved? [00:22:53] His personal journey from IIT to the US [00:27:05] How a personal pain point led to an entrepreneurial insight? [00:38:52] What is broken in dating apps and how can technology fix it? [00:47:10] Anil’s definition of compatibility [00:55:28] Is introducing AI in matchmaking a threat or opportunity [01:13:40] Anil’s advice to young people navigating relationships [01:25:45] Closing reflections from Anil #Matchmaking #ModernRelationships #AIAndRelationships #SwipeCulture #FounderJourney #Jodi365 #HumanConnection #BestPlacetoBuild #IITMadras

S. Anil KumarguestAmruthost
Feb 13, 20261h 28mWatch on YouTube ↗

Episode Details

EPISODE INFO

Released
February 13, 2026
Duration
1h 28m
Channel
Best Place To Build
Watch on YouTube
▶ Open ↗

EPISODE DESCRIPTION

In today’s episode of the Best Place to Build Podcast, we continue the theme of the last few episodes - Builders who are building something unconventional. Today’s guest on the podcast is building human connections through a personalised matchmaking service. Yes, you read it right. Anil Kumar is the founder of Jodi365, a matchmaking service that he has built over 15+ years. Anil is an IIT Madras alumnus whose journey spans a PhD, marine consulting in the US, an MBA from Booth, and eventually a deeply personal realisation: professional success does not automatically translate to personal fulfilment. Join Amrut as he speaks to Anil about not just dating, culture, technology, ambition, heartbreak, and building solutions rooted in lived experience. Of course, AI finds it place in this conversation as well as our guest talks about its role in building matches. In this episode: Why matchmaking is still an unsolved problem How technology changed relationships - for better and worse Swiping fatigue, paradox of choice, and authenticity in an AI era Why being the right partner matters more than finding the right one How Anil is blending human intuition with AI to scale personalized matchmaking If you’re interested in how technology intersects with culture, psychology, and long-term decision-making, this conversation is worth your time. Also, this conversation broke the record of our longest-ever podcast episode! Chapters: [00:01:16] Intro [00:01:51] How does Anil Kumar describe what Jodi365 is? [00:07:52] Why is matchmaking a problem to be solved? [00:22:53] His personal journey from IIT to the US [00:27:05] How a personal pain point led to an entrepreneurial insight? [00:38:52] What is broken in dating apps and how can technology fix it? [00:47:10] Anil’s definition of compatibility [00:55:28] Is introducing AI in matchmaking a threat or opportunity [01:13:40] Anil’s advice to young people navigating relationships [01:25:45] Closing reflections from Anil #Matchmaking #ModernRelationships #AIAndRelationships #SwipeCulture #FounderJourney #Jodi365 #HumanConnection #BestPlacetoBuild #IITMadras

SPEAKERS

  • S. Anil Kumar

    guest
  • Amrut

    host

EPISODE SUMMARY

In this episode of Best Place To Build, featuring S. Anil Kumar and Amrut, Valentine's Day Special: Building Human Connections, one pair at a time; S. Anil Kumar, Jodi365 explores human-centered matchmaking: solving modern dating with trust, service, and AI Jodi365 evolved from a platform into a fully personalized matchmaking service that handles searching, screening, curation, and sensitive verification for clients.

RELATED EPISODES

The year 2025 from the Best Place to Build Podcast! Revisiting your favourite moments! | BP2B S2E16

The year 2025 from the Best Place to Build Podcast! Revisiting your favourite moments! | BP2B S2E16

Raw and Real: Tarun Mehta on his IIT Madras days, NOT doing MBA & founding Ather Energy | BP2B S2E18

Raw and Real: Tarun Mehta on his IIT Madras days, NOT doing MBA & founding Ather Energy | BP2B S2E18

Can India lead the Hyperloop race? | BP2B: Student Edition! Ep.04

Can India lead the Hyperloop race? | BP2B: Student Edition! Ep.04

How does 5G work? | A RARE look inside the 5G testbed facility @IITM | BP2B Labcast Ep 1

How does 5G work? | A RARE look inside the 5G testbed facility @IITM | BP2B Labcast Ep 1

This Dean left the US to build IITM's entrepreneurial future | Prof Ashwin Mahalingam | BP2B S2E13

This Dean left the US to build IITM's entrepreneurial future | Prof Ashwin Mahalingam | BP2B S2E13

Quantum Mechanics, qubits, superposition & superconductors with Prof. Prabha Mandayam | BP2B S2 E11

Quantum Mechanics, qubits, superposition & superconductors with Prof. Prabha Mandayam | BP2B S2 E11

Get more out of YouTube videos.

High quality summaries for YouTube videos. Accurate transcripts to search & find moments. Powered by ChatGPT & Claude AI.