I founded a company that did this. Despite our best efforts and aggressive marketing campaigns, it turned into a dating site. For example, messaging almost entirely stopped when we only matched same sexes. We found that even if the app is used for making friends, people look for someone they're attracted to first, since it's just more fun.

During our market research, nearly everyone wanted to meet new friends and liked the idea. However, in practice noone thinks of using an app/website to make friends, and there's no driving motivator like with dating or employment.

We all know it's exciting to meet people serendipitously in person. However, being exposed to lots of profiles online that look similar and tell you everything up front takes the magic away.