Singapore is turning to a Nobel Prize-winning matching theory algorithm to help some of its civil servants find dates.

FirstDate, a pilot program introduced by Singapore’s Government Technology Agency (GovTech), offers single public officers between the ages of 21 and 35 one potential match. After receiving an introduction, users have 72 hours to decide whether to connect.

“Swipe fatigue ends here,” the FirstDate pilot website says, reflecting the dating-app frustration over whether having more options makes it easier to find a partner—or simply makes the decision more difficult.

The service uses the Gale-Shapley algorithm, part of the matching theory that earned Lloyd Shapley and Alvin Roth the 2012 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The algorithm is designed to create stable pairings in which no two participants would both prefer each other to their assigned matches. The Nobel Prize’s summary describes the theory behind the approach. The award recognized both the theory of stable matchings and its practical application in market design, and matching systems built on the framework have since been used in settings such as pairing U.S. medical school graduates with hospital residency programs.

“Limiting the choice set resets the dating environment to one that is more manageable by human brains,” said Norman Li, a psychology professor at Singapore Management University who studies partner preferences. Li told Fortune that people can become overwhelmed by too many perceived choices, making it harder to find a partner or commit.

Later marriages and lower fertility

The pilot comes as Singapore experiences later marriages and declining fertility. The country’s resident total fertility rate fell to 0.87 births per woman in 2025, from 0.97 in 2024, according to Singapore’s Department of Statistics. That is well below the roughly 2.1 births per woman generally considered the replacement level needed for a population to remain stable over time. The department’s population data also shows that the median age at first marriage rose to 31.1 for grooms and 29.6 for brides, compared with 30.3 and 28.2, respectively, a decade earlier.

FirstDate’s website describes the program as a way to support singles in their dating journey, without explicitly stating that increasing birth rates is an objective. Each user receives one potential match at a time, together with a compatibility score, a description and a personal note.

According to the website, GovTech officers developed the idea during the agency’s annual hackathon. The service is intended to emphasize compatibility and give participants more time to consider each introduction. GovTech made the concept public in April by surveying singles about an early version. One proposal included a government-subsidized first-date meal, according to The Straits Times.

Participants complete a questionnaire covering subjects commonly discussed on a first date, including interests, habits, preferences and values. FirstDate then applies the Gale-Shapley stable marriage algorithm to pair participants according to their stated preferences.

Both participants receive an SMS notifying them of the match. After that, only their profiles are visible to each other, and contact details are shared only when both users accept. A follow-up survey asks how the introduction went, including whether the participants exchanged contact information or met in person.

GovTech told Fortune that FirstDate is a limited pilot and that it had no further information to share beyond what was already publicly available. Applications close Oct. 5, and GovTech has not said whether the pilot will continue or expand after that date. The follow-up survey on whether introductions led to exchanged contacts or in-person meetings could offer an early indication of how the program performs.

Li said identity verification could be one advantage of a government-run service. “The government offers greater security, including identity verification, which helps ensure that users are more legitimate and single,” he said.

That feature appealed to Elizabeth, a 29-year-old Defence Ministry employee who is interested in trying FirstDate. She told the BBC that the likelihood of being scammed is “much lower.”

“We’re all public servants looking for a partner, right?” she told the BBC.

Concerns over participation and privacy

Attracting participants could still be difficult. “It’s possible that some people might be concerned about the government being involved in their intimate life,” Li said.

The BBC reported that some Singaporeans had called the pilot “dystopian,” while others criticized it for excluding people who do not work for the government. Reddit users also discussed the age restriction and joked about being too old to qualify. “Lol ages 21-35. So it’s true above 35 even [the government] gives up on you?” wrote user RexRender in an r/singapore discussion.

Singapore has previously used government-backed matchmaking programs. In January 1984, it established the Social Development Unit to match university graduates working in the public service. The initiative reflected then-Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew’s concern that fewer children born to educated women would reduce the country’s future talent pool, according to an account by Singapore’s National Library, including its historical discussion of the initiative.

Singapore is not the only government to experiment with matchmaking services. Tokyo’s metropolitan government launched its own dating app in 2024. By June 2026, 265 couples had married through the service, according to Global Dating Insights, which was also reported by Fortune.

Li said FirstDate could be useful, but matchmaking alone cannot every barrier to relationships. “A new matchmaking platform can increase mate search effectiveness and create new possibilities, especially for serious users,” he said.

He identified financial pressures, job and economic uncertainty, chronic stress, social isolation and a lack of family support as factors that can complicate dating, marriage and parenthood.

FirstDate’s website also acknowledges the limitations of matching people through a questionnaire: “Of course, compatibility on paper doesn’t guarantee chemistry or a match leading to a relationship. Where it goes from there is up to you.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.