Key facts
- Flipboard has acquired Portland-based feed-building startup Graze.
- Graze enables feed creators to monetize their content through contextual ads, avoiding user data tracking.
- Ad revenue is split 70/30, with feed creators receiving the larger share.
- Graze currently hosts over 7,000 feeds, with approximately 60% of its traffic monetized.
- Flipboard intends to integrate Graze's technology into its own app and support platforms built on the AT Protocol.
Flipboard, a company known for its news magazine software, is expanding its investment in the open social web by acquiring Graze, a startup that has developed a model for monetizing curated content feeds. Graze allows creators to earn income through contextual advertising, which does not rely on tracking individual user data, a key tenet of the open social web movement. The acquired company's technology enables users to build, customize, and manage feeds for platforms like Bluesky, which utilize the AT Protocol for interoperability.
Graze's model involves a 70/30 revenue split, with the majority of ad income going to the feed creator. Flipboard CEO Mike McCue highlighted the adtech's privacy-friendly approach and the shared economics as key advantages. The acquisition came about as Flipboard was already using Graze's technology in its new app, Surf, leading to a shared vision and a recognition of duplicated efforts. Post-acquisition, Flipboard plans to leverage Graze's technology to empower users to build their own feeds across various AT Protocol-based applications, including Flipboard's own offerings.
While financial terms were not disclosed, the deal is considered small, given Graze's recent funding of $1 million and its small team of two members. The integration aims to further develop the ecosystem for content creators on the open social web, allowing them to build communities and generate income without compromising user privacy.