The Future of Social Discovery: Why One Platform Is Betting Against Algorithms As tech giants double down on AI recommendations, Yubo's CEO explains why serendipity, not prediction, is the future of making friends

The tech industry has spent years perfecting algorithms that predict what you'll want before you know you want it. Streaming services suggest your next binge. Music platforms curate your playlists. Dating apps claim to find your perfect match.

But when it comes to friendship, Sacha Lazimi thinks prediction is the wrong approach entirely.

"Friendship is unpredictable," says the CEO and co-founder of Yubo, a social discovery platform that just completed its transition to serving only users 18 and older. "You can't engineer compatibility. What you can do is create the conditions where genuine connection is more likely to happen."

That philosophy has guided Yubo's growth from a French startup in 2015 to a platform serving users across more than 140 countries. And it's a philosophy that runs counter to how most social platforms operate today.

Serendipity Over Optimization

Yubo takes a different approach from platforms that rely on sophisticated matching algorithms: put people in the same digital space at the same time, give them shared interests to talk about, and let human chemistry do the rest.

"We don't try to predict who you'll be friends with," Lazimi explains. "We connect you with people who are online right now and share your interests. That's it. Meaningful connections often happen organically in coversation"

This shows up in how the platform works. According to internal company data, users join group video livestreams averaging just five participants, intimate enough to actually talk, not broadcast to an audience. The platform reports that about 95% of these livestreams have zero passive watchers. Everyone's participating.

The average session lasts about two hours. "That's the length of hanging out with friends in real life," Lazimi notes. "We're not trying to maximize time on platform. We're trying to facilitate actual connection."

The Business Case for Safety

Yubo's other defining characteristic is an early, expensive bet on safety infrastructure. In 2022, the company required age verification for 100% of users, years before regulations made it mandatory.

The decision cost Yubo approximately 20% of its user base. So why do it?

"Trust is our product," says Margaux Liquard, Yubo's Head of Trust & Safety. "If users don't feel safe enough to be vulnerable, they won't make real connections. And if they don't make real connections, we don't have a business."

The company reports that roughly 30% of Yubo's annual budget goes to trust and safety and states it has processed over 290 million age checks. According to them, real-time content moderation monitors livestreams 24/7. Their Safety Specialists review flagged content globally.

It's a significant operational expense. But it's also a competitive moat. "Platforms are now implementing age verification as regulators require it," Liquard notes. "We've been refining our systems for three years. That operational experience is hard to replicate."

Growing Up With Gen Z

The recent shift to 18+ reflects both demographic reality and strategic focus. According to company data, more than 90% of Yubo's users are already young adults. In internal surveys, 92% said they view the platform as a space for their age group, not teens.

"We've been in business for 10 years. Gen Z has grown up," Lazimi says. "Rather than trying to serve multiple age groups with different needs, we're doubling down on young adults specifically."

It's a clarifying move. Yubo isn't competing with major social platforms for attention and ad revenue. It's carving out a category: live social discovery for young adults who want to make actual friends, not accumulate followers.

The business model reflects this. Revenue comes from premium features like enhanced profile visibility and livestream boosts, not advertising. This structure can better support the platform's focus on user connection rather than engagement maximization.

"We want people to use Yubo, make friends, and then go hang out, maybe offline," Lazimi explains. "Success isn't maximum time on the platform. It's whether people are making meaningful connections."

What's Next

As Yubo approaches its eleventh year, Lazimi sees the social discovery category expanding. "People are tired of passive content consumption. They want genuine interaction. The pandemic proved that. During that period, we saw significant growth in livestream engagement when people were isolated and craving connection."

The challenge now is execution. Maintaining safety infrastructure at scale while keeping the user experience frictionless. Expanding geographically while preserving community feel. Growing revenue without compromising the product ethos.

But Lazimi is confident the fundamentals are right. "We're focused on optimizing for connection. That's a different approach with potentially different outcomes."

In an industry built on algorithmic prediction and maximizing screen time, Yubo's bet on serendipity and human chemistry stands out. Whether that approach can scale to compete with tech giants remains to be seen.

But for a generation that grew up with social media and increasingly questions its effects, a platform that treats friendship as something to facilitate rather than engineer might be exactly what they're looking for.