Marco Polo announces the launch of Marco Polo Circles™, which uses face-to-face video connection to create friendships centered around life stage and interests. It's a paid, 4-week program that hand-matches women into small groups, inspired by the millions of people who've used Marco Polo over the years to build and maintain relationships regardless of physical location.
SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Today, Marco Polo announced the launch of Marco Polo Circles™, which uses face-to-face video connection to create friendships centered around life stage and interests. It's a paid, 4-week program that hand-matches women into small groups, inspired by the millions of people who've used Marco Polo over the years to build and maintain relationships regardless of physical location.
Responses to a brief matchmaking survey are used to organize groups of 5-8 women who will connect through video messaging. The Marco Polo team reads every response and hand-matches participants according to what they have in common like life stage, relationship status and identity, including:
- No kids (for now)
- New mom (baby or toddler at home)
- Mom of school-age kids
- Mom of teens or young adults
- Empty nester
- Child-free by choice
- Perimenopause
- Menopause / post-menopause
- Going through a major life transition (divorce, career change, loss, etc.)
"Making real friends as an adult has historically taken a lot of time and effort," says Meagan Allers, Head of Community at Marco Polo. "Meeting women where they are has been our priority in building Marco Polo Circles. Real friendship, by video, on your schedule. No forced fun, no group chats that go nowhere, no waiting for plans that never get made. Just the right women showing up for each other."
More than 1,000 women participated in Circles before its launch, shaping the program through their feedback from real experience. Additionally, initial survey data gathered from 285 survey participants indicates 1 in 4 made a real friend inside their Circle and 67% want to do it again.
"Marco Polo has always been about helping you feel close to the people you already know," says Vlada Bortnik, CEO and co-founder of Marco Polo. "The U.S. Surgeon General's 2023 advisory called social connection as essential to survival as food, water, and shelter. But when you need food or water, there's a store. When you need a friend who's in your stage of life, going through the same things you are, there hasn't been anywhere to go. We built Marco Polo Circles to be that place. And it's working."
To learn more about Marco Polo Circles, visit https://circles.marcopolo.me/.
About Marco Polo
Marco Polo helps millions of people around the world feel close and rediscover the joy of authentic relationships using face-to-face video connection.
Because you can see each other's facial expressions and hear each other's tone of voice, you get the same spontaneous face-to-face connection that you do when you're talking live, without having to schedule anything. And unlike social media, Marco Polo creates an authentic back-and-forth conversation – you're not just posting a highlight reel.
Marco Polo was originally created by founders Michał and Vlada Bortnik to help their kids stay close to family members around the world. Visit https://www.marcopolo.me/ or download Marco Polo for free from the App Store.
Media Contact
Laurel Case, Marco Polo, 1 315-663-6780, [email protected], https://www.marcopolo.me/
SOURCE Marco Polo
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