Is there a demand for an Uber-like service for escorts?

It turns out a venture capitalist in China believe the answer to that question is yes, with local on-demand escort service Come Rent Me (Hangzhou Ouch Technology Ltd) raising 5 million RMB ($770,000) in a round from an undisclosed investor earlier this week.

Founded in 2015, Come Rent Me allows users to rent themselves out to strangers on an hourly basis via a WeChat account, and charge from between 1 to 200 RMB (15 cents to $31) an hour for various “activities.”

The service ostensibly is meant to be a way for Chinese people to meet each other, but with the ability to charge for the service; despite flourishing prostitution is illegal in China, so the company itself says that users can pay to meet people for things like going to the movies, eating dinner, jogging, visiting ancient towns, and other things, without any mention of sexual services.

“Nowadays, young people don’t want to go out,” Come Rent Me Co-founder Yulong Fan told Technode in an interview. “Between going to and from work, most people either stay at home by themselves or play games. When people don’t leverage their free time, the opportunities to talk and meet with new people decreases.”

“We’re not a community platform … We’re running an information service. No matter what you do, whether it’s meeting someone or completing a task, you have a cost.”

The company isn’t shy in comparing itself to Uber or Chinese service Didi Kuaidi, with Fan adding that “Uber and Didi have transformed the free time of individuals, and have made private cars acceptable … Don’t [performers and cross-talkers] sell their time? or consultants and lawyers? Why can’t individuals sell their time?”

Why not indeed

While prostitution laws are slowly becoming liberalized in many parts of the world, the notable exceptions remain Asia and the United States, where the thought of regulating the world’s oldest profession remains morally repugnant, even if in reality it has always been widespread.

Some services, such as “Sugardaddy” sites get around such laws by making the escort transaction more of a gift in return for attention, whereas Come Rent Me puts a price on the initial legal interaction upfront, with any additional happy ending to be privately negotiated by both the parties involved.

Presuming it doesn’t grab the attention of the Chinese Government, Come Rent Me seems well set to tap into the market, although its potential to expand globally would be extremely limited.

Image credit: mimi-chen/Flickr/CC by 2.0