Meet people, chat with friends, express yourself.Fun, safe, easy to use. Flirt, chat, date and view pics on your cell phone or online.

Icebreaker Inc. said it's received an undisclosed amount of angel investment and venture capital funding and has launched a new interactive dating platform for cell-phone users.

The Bellevue company said its new "Bigcafe" dating service allows users to post their photos and profiles. Interested users can initiate contact, or "crush" them, while uninterested users can do nothing, or "flush" them.

The company was co-founded by Michael Robinson and Eric Hennings, who said in a statement that they met at Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT - News).

"Bigcafe brings back the spontaneity and romance of flirting," Robinson said in a statement.

Lightspeed Venture Partners of Menlo Park, Calif., provided some of the venture capital, Icebreaker said in the statement.

Published January 16, 2007 by the Puget Sound Business Journal