8thBridge is a technology company.
8thBridge is a technology company.
8thBridge has raised $10.0M across 1 funding round.
8thBridge has raised $10.0M in total across 1 funding round.
8thBridge has raised $10.0M in total across 1 funding round.
8thBridge is a technology company founded in 2008 that built a Social Discovery and Social CRM platform called Graphite, enabling brands and retailers to empower customers to discover products through social interactions, create crowd-sourced content, and gain deeper customer insights via social data.[1][2][3][5] It served retailers and brands like Toys 'R' Us, Delta Air Lines, 1-800-Flowers, Ticketmaster, and Deb Shops, solving the problem of monetizing social media by translating fans and followers into measurable sales lift through socially-engaging shopping experiences, social login, curation, discovery, and analytics.[1][2][3] The company raised $15.6M, generated around $5.1M in revenue, and was headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota, before being acquired by Fluid, a commerce services firm, to expand social commerce tools.[1][2][3]
8thBridge emerged in 2008 as a pioneer in social commerce, funded by Split Rock Partners and Trident Capital, and recognized as a Facebook Preferred Marketing Developer.[1][2] Key early milestones included launching F-Commerce with 1-800-Flowers in 2009, the award-winning Delta Air Lines social travel planning app in 2010, and the Ticketmaster Timeline app in 2012, establishing partnerships with major brands.[2] Led by CEO Wade Gerten, the company developed its Graphite platform to leverage Open Graph for scalable word-of-mouth marketing across channels.[2][3][5][6] In a pivotal move, 8thBridge was acquired by Fluid, aligning visions for an "experience layer" in e-commerce after Fluid's $24M raise from Goldman Sachs and 8thBridge's new funding round.[3]
8thBridge rode the early social commerce wave in the late 2000s-2010s, capitalizing on the rise of Facebook's Open Graph and platforms like Pinterest to bridge social media with e-commerce at a time when brands struggled to convert social engagement into revenue.[2][3][6] Timing was ideal amid exploding social networks, enabling data-rich insights (e.g., demographics from social logins) that informed targeted marketing in retail sectors.[3] Market forces like growing e-commerce and demand for customer-led growth favored its tools, influencing the ecosystem by pioneering Social CRM—later expanded via Fluid acquisition to blend with digital shopping software, paving the way for modern referral platforms like Extole and Ambassador.[1][3]
Post-acquisition by Fluid, 8thBridge's technology likely integrated into broader commerce solutions, enhancing social tools for ongoing retail evolution amid influencer marketing and AI-driven personalization.[3] Trends like privacy-focused social data and omnichannel experiences will shape its legacy, potentially evolving influence through Fluid's client base. As a trailblazer in social monetization, it set the stage for today's customer advocacy platforms, underscoring how early social integration unlocked enduring e-commerce growth.[1][3]
8thBridge has raised $10.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $10.0M Series B in March 2011.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2011 | $10.0M Series B |