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8thBridge is a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based social commerce technology company that provides a software-as-a-service platform enabling retail brands to integrate user-generated social content and peer recommendations directly into their e-commerce websites. Prior to its acquisition, the enterprise software provider operated with a team of 17 employees and raised $15.6 million in total venture capital funding, which included a $10 million Series B round. The company licenses its social discovery and customer relationship management tools to major consumer brands across the retail, travel, and apparel sectors, securing enterprise contracts with corporations such as Target and Delta Air Lines. The business received financial backing from institutional investors including Trident Capital and Split Rock Partners before ultimately being acquired by the digital commerce agency Fluid in early 2014. Originally operating under the name Alvenda, 8thBridge was founded in 2008 by Wade Gerten.
8thBridge has raised $15.0M across 2 funding rounds.
8thBridge has raised $15.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
8thBridge has raised $15.0M in total across 2 funding rounds.
8thBridge's investors include Evangelos Simoudis, Split Rock Partners, Michael Gorman.
8thBridge has raised $15.0M across 2 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $10.0M Series B in March 2011.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 1, 2011 | $10M Series B | Evangelos Simoudis | Split Rock Partners | Announced |
| Jan 25, 2010 | $5M Venture Round | Michael Gorman | — | Announced |
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]
