Azar has hosted over 100 billion video chats through its app, which connects random strangers around the globe. Until now, however, the Seoul-based app has been off-limits in the United States.

It may be tricky for the U.S. market. Random video chat apps have been like Ouija boards to millennials who grew up knowing about Omegle and Chatroulette. In place of conjuring signs associated with a specter that would cause jump scares, these apps have been known for yielding unexpectedly pantless men, a horror perhaps more frightening than the supernatural.

Omegle went dark last year after accepting a settlement in a $22 million sex trafficking lawsuit. Chatroulette still technically exists, though South Park disparaged the site as a haven for sexual predators, and Salon eulogized it in 2010 ("Cause of death: penises").

Yet, because the bulk of Azar's users are Gen Zers, it is supported by what those younger web surfers don't recall. And importantly, at least Azar is trying to counter nonconsensual nudity with a mix of human and AI-based moderation.

The automated tools are fired off first, be it an inappropriate image, be it audio or in text form, and then that's when it's triggered for the human moderator, according to TechCrunch. "So the human moderators then immediately get notified to go investigate and take action," he said.

Kim had joined the company two years ago, when she moved from the U.S. to run Azar, Hyperconnect's flagship product. Hyperconnect also manages a livestreaming service called Hakuna Live. Match acquired Hyperconnect in 2021 for $1.73 billion.

While part of dating juggernaut Match, Azar is not especially a dating app, although some people do use it for that. The free to use web and mobile app lets users more finely toggle who they want to see with in-app purchases based on gender and location. Azar may match people who don't speak a common language but its text chat feature automatically translates messages.

"Our key user is mostly the younger generation, the Gen Zs," Kim said. "They really want that real-time, spontaneous conversation and meeting somebody."

Kim has firsthand experience of how the user base skews young. She herself uses the platform, sometimes to solicit travel tips for places she plans to visit, such as Taiwan.

"I actually never disclose that I'm the CEO of the company or anything, so I just pretend I'm just another user," she said. "Sometimes they're like, 'Oh, you're an old person. What are you doing on this platform?

She isn't old, as these chatty partners would say, but she is experienced enough that she was working in worldwide developer relations at Apple when the App Store first launched in 2008. She then was the manager of the games and social networking categories on the App Store before moving over to Zynga. She diverged a little later to baby and diaper companies, but has come back to the social app now.

Apps like Azar are targeting Gen Z. It is also the generation that has been burdened with loneliness. As reported recently by Amy Wu, founder of AI-based mental health app Manifest, there will be unicorns that emerge … to address the loneliness epidemic.

However, at least part of the appeal of getting pitched into face-to-face conversation with a stranger may be intimidating to some users. Users may apply AR features to mask their face, but when I applied one of these filters to conceal my identity, my chat partner said, "I don't want to talk to a zebra." Fair enough.

As Azar seeks to gain a foothold in the U.S., the app will need to outrun the dubious reputation around random video chat apps.

"Safety really is a concern in the U.S. market," Kim said. "I think given the emphasis that we have in safety, and the mission that we have of really investing in safety … I truly believe that the U.S. market will embrace Azar."