David Harrison.
Ember Dating App, Inc. was founded by David Harrison, a US Navy veteran and Michigan State University economics student who designed, engineered and shipped the entire product himself. Ember is a global dating app for people open to a serious relationship with someone in another country. Every message is translated live in over 100 languages, every profile passes a government ID and liveness check before anyone can see it, members match on a world map rather than a local radius, and voice and video calling are built in.
Background
David served in the US Navy from 2019 to 2022 as an aviation apprentice airman aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN-74), stationed in Norfolk and Newport News, Virginia.
After leaving the Navy he spent about fifteen months traveling Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. The language barrier he kept running into, between people who wanted to know each other and could not easily talk, became the problem Ember was built to solve.
He is completing a bachelor's degree in economics at Michigan State University, graduating in December 2026, and took part in the Burgess Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation's Venture Creation program.
Building Ember
David built Ember on his own, with no outside capital: the Android and iOS apps, the backend and infrastructure, identity verification and live translation. Ember is live on Google Play in 177 countries, and the iPhone app is in App Store review. Ember Dating App, Inc. is a Delaware corporation.
In the press
Global Dating Insights, August 2026: Solo-Built Dating App Ember Brings Translation to 177 Countries.
Contact
Press, partnerships and investors: david@emberdatingapp.org. On LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/david-harrison95.
