CUPE connect

Connect in Real Life – From Cupe Cupe is a geo-location–based social tool that connects people within a 50-meter radius, built to bring back spontaneous, real-life connections. For two months, a group of NYU students hit the streets of NYC, asking strangers about their missed encounters. The response was overwhelming: our street interviews went viral, reaching 15 million people and racking up millions of views. This proved a real, unaddressed problem; that there’s no seamless way to bridge offline encounters and online social experience. When we first arrived at NYU, we all struggled with meeting new people on campus. Now, as seniors, we empathize deeply with freshmen and want to build the tool we wish we’d had when we were first years. So we created Cupe to solve this general social problem by making proximity actionable. It turns those chance encounters into genuine, serendipitous relationships, transforming missed connections into meaningful ones all in real time.

CONNECT

• Enter our 50-meter Radius Circle and see users around you as moving dots in real time.
• Toggle Visibility On/Off to decide when you’re open to connection.
• Tap a profile to view name, age, photo, and a one-liner.
• Wave to send a low-pressure request, or use Arrows to share someone’s profile with friends.

SAFETY FIRST

• Built-in Emergency Button with quick options to Report, Block, or Dial 911 when you tap someone’s profile circle, which is easy to use and immediate.
• Users control what they share: Beyond your one-liner, age, and profile photo, you decide what personal information to share in each chat, giving you full autonomy and peace of mind

MESSAGING Enjoy color-coded chats for clarity: Blue + Yellow = Friends

Yellow + Pink = I think you’re cupe — a gentle hint that you might want something more, while keeping friends as the default.

• Tailor the visibility of your details for each connection.

WAVES

• See who has sent you a Wave and keep track of new connections.

ARROWS

• A referral feature where friends can share profiles they’ve spotted in their 50-meter circle to their friends not on the app, to create communities and friendship groups at NYU, a very useful tool to help people make friends at university and overcome shyness.

OUR MISSION Gen Z is the loneliest generation, 80% report feeling lonely, even in a world oversaturated with social platforms. These apps are designed to keep us stuck on our phones, endlessly scrolling instead of truly connecting. Cupe is different. We bridge technology and real life, encouraging people to live in the present by turning proximity into genuine, spontaneous interactions. Beyond the app, we host events, partner with local cafés, and create safe, welcoming spaces across New York City where users can meet, mingle, and form real communities. Our goal is to be tech for good — a social tool that helps people overcome barriers to connection. Cupe fosters a softer, safer world to meet others in ways that feel emotionally intelligent, respectful, and deeply human. It’s about transforming fleeting encounters into meaningful relationships not just online, but in real life.