Wetpaint is a technology company.
Wetpaint has raised $40.0M across 3 funding rounds.
Wetpaint has raised $40.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Wetpaint has raised $40.0M in total across 3 funding rounds.
Wetpaint's investors include Acrew Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Kapor Capital, Madrona Ventures, Trinity Ventures.
Wetpaint was a technology company founded in 2005 as a wiki farm, evolving into a publisher of entertainment news via the Wetpaint Entertainment website and developer of a proprietary Social Distribution System for analytics used by online publishers.[1] It served content creators, readers interested in entertainment, and publishers needing analytics tools, addressing challenges in user-generated content hosting, professional content distribution, and web traffic optimization amid declining ad revenue.[1] The company raised significant venture capital—$5.25M Series A, $9.5M Series B, and $25M Series C—but faced layoffs in 2009, refocused on professional content, and became a subsidiary of Function(X) before ceasing independent operations.[1]
Wetpaint originated as Wikisphere in October 2005, co-founded by Ben Elowitz (prior co-founder of online jewelry retailer Blue Nile) along with Kevin Flaherty and Alex Berg.[1] The idea emerged from building proprietary wiki-hosting software to enable easy user-generated sites, renamed Wetpaint by December 2005.[1] Early traction included $5.25M in initial funding from Trinity Ventures and Frazier Technology Ventures, followed by larger rounds from Accel Partners; it earned recognition as one of *Time Magazine*'s 50 Best Websites of 2007.[1] Pivotal shifts came in 2008 with social networking features and 2009 layoffs (15 then 9 employees, including co-founders Flaherty and Berg) due to ad revenue drops, prompting a pivot to professional content.[1]
(Note: Other "Wetpaint" entities, like advertising agencies in South Africa, UAE, or music services, appear unrelated to this tech company.[2][4][5])
Wetpaint rode the Web 2.0 wave of user-generated content and social publishing in the mid-2000s, coinciding with the rise of wikis (post-Wikipedia) and early social networks.[1] Timing mattered as it launched amid explosive growth in collaborative tools, but market forces like the 2008-2009 ad recession forced its pivot and layoffs, highlighting vulnerabilities in ad-dependent models.[1] It influenced the ecosystem by pioneering wiki farms and social analytics platforms, paving the way for modern content management systems (e.g., WordPress plugins, analytics like Google Analytics) and professionalized publishing tools that blended user and pro content.[1]
Wetpaint's story as a 2000s social publishing innovator ended as a Function(X) subsidiary, with no recent activity indicating independent operations ceased post-2012.[1] Trends like AI-driven content and advanced analytics have superseded its Social Distribution System, but its legacy endures in hybrid content platforms. Influence may evolve through alumni (e.g., Elowitz) impacting newer ventures, tying back to its roots in making web publishing accessible— a foundation still powering today's creator economy.
Wetpaint has raised $40.0M across 3 funding rounds. Most recently, it raised $25.0M Series C in May 2008.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 1, 2008 | $25.0M Series C | Acrew Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Kapor Capital, Madrona Ventures, Trinity Ventures | |
| Dec 1, 2006 | $10.0M Series B | Acrew Capital, Great Oaks Venture Capital, Kapor Capital, Madrona Ventures, Trinity Ventures | |
| Sep 1, 2005 | $5.0M Series A | Great Oaks Venture Capital, Madrona Ventures, Trinity Ventures |