Flipboard is making another move away from closed social platforms.
The company has acquired Graze, a startup that lets people build and monetize custom feeds on Bluesky. The deal brings Graze’s feed technology into Flipboard’s growing open-web strategy.
Graze has quietly built serious scale. In 21 months, its feeds delivered more than 41 billion posts to around 12 million people. More than 7,000 feeds are already running on the platform.
The bigger idea is simple. Feed creators can build communities around specific interests and eventually make money from them.
Flipboard Is Buying Graze for Its Feed-Building Technology
Graze gives users tools to create and manage custom Bluesky feeds. These feeds can focus on almost any topic or community. Users can also make them available inside other apps built on Bluesky’s AT Protocol. Flipboard had already been using Graze technology inside Surf. That existing relationship eventually led to the acquisition. The two companies realized they were building toward a similar vision.
Graze Has Already Reached Millions of Users
Graze is still a small startup, but its feeds have traveled far. The company says it has delivered more than 41 billion posts. Around 12 million people have interacted with those feeds. More than 7,000 custom feeds are available through Graze today. About 60% of its traffic is already monetized. Those figures give Flipboard a working system rather than an experimental product.
The Advertising Model Avoids Traditional User Tracking
Graze is trying to monetize feeds without following users around the web. Its advertising model is based on context instead. A brand can place an ad inside a feed built around a specific subject. A gaming company, for example, could advertise inside a feed used by game developers. The feed creator can also choose which ads appear. That gives curators more control over the commercial side of their communities.
Feed Creators Keep Most of the Ad Revenue
The revenue split is another important part of the deal. Graze shares advertising income with feed creators. Creators receive 70% of the revenue, while Graze keeps 30%. That model gives people a reason to build useful feeds and maintain active communities. It also pushes against the traditional platform model, where most advertising revenue stays with the platform owner.
Flipboard Sees an Alternative to Surveillance Advertising
Flipboard CEO Mike McCue has been outspoken about privacy-focused advertising. He praised Graze because its system does not depend on extensive user tracking. Instead, ads can be matched with the subject of a feed. That approach fits Flipboard’s broader argument for a more open social web. The company wants creators and communities to control more of the experience, including the economics behind it.
Surf Was Already Bringing Flipboard and Graze Together
The acquisition did not come out of nowhere. Flipboard had already integrated Graze’s technology into Surf, its app for browsing the open social web. Surf lets users create feeds from different sources and protocols. It can pull content from Bluesky, Mastodon, Threads, blogs, podcasts, YouTube, and RSS. Flipboard has gradually turned Surf into the center of its decentralized social strategy.
Graze Feeds Will Expand Beyond Bluesky
Graze is best known for building Bluesky feeds. That is going to broaden after the acquisition. Flipboard plans to use the technology across services built on the AT Protocol. The company also wants Graze tools inside its own products. Users will still be able to build and manage feeds themselves. The end goal is a wider feed ecosystem that is not tied to one social app.
Flipboard Wants Communities to Control Their Own Algorithms
Flipboard has been pushing this idea for months. In April, Surf launched what it calls “social websites.” These are independent web destinations built around customized feeds. Publishers and creators can combine social posts, videos, podcasts, newsletters, and other material in one place. They also control the sources, filters, and moderation rules. That gives communities more influence over the algorithm instead of handing everything to one platform.
Graze Could Help Flipboard Turn Open Social Into a Business
The open social web has always had a monetization question hanging over it. Decentralization sounds attractive, but creators still need a way to earn money. Platforms also need sustainable business models. Graze gives Flipboard one possible answer. Communities can build focused feeds. Advertisers can reach those communities through contextual placements. Creators then keep most of the revenue. It is a fairly simple model, which may be part of the appeal.
The Deal Was Small, but the Strategy Is Bigger
Flipboard did not disclose the acquisition price. TechCrunch reported that Graze had raised only about $1 million and had a team of two people. That makes this a small acquisition by normal tech standards. Still, the strategic value could be much larger. Graze brings feed infrastructure, monetization tools, and an existing creator ecosystem. Flipboard already brings advertisers, publishers, and distribution.
The Open Social Web Is Starting to Look More Commercial
For years, open social platforms were mostly discussed in terms of freedom and decentralization. The conversation is shifting. Companies are now asking how these networks can support creators, publishers, and advertisers without copying the same model used by major social platforms.
Flipboard’s acquisition of Graze sits right in the middle of that shift.
The company is not trying to build another giant social network. It appears more interested in giving people tools to build smaller communities across open protocols. If creators can also make money from those communities, the open social web becomes much easier to sustain.
That may be the real value of the Graze deal.
Sources
- TechCrunch — Flipboard acquires Graze, the feed builder working to monetize the open social web
https://techcrunch.com/2026/08/26/flipboard-acquires-graze-the-feed-builder-working-to-monetize-the-open-social-web/ - TechCrunch — Flipboard’s new ‘social websites’ help publishers and creators tap into the open social web
https://techcrunch.com/2026/04/02/flipboard-surf-social-websites-help-publishers-and-creators-tap-into-the-open-social-web/ - Flipboard — Surf Launches Social Websites, a New Model for Social Media
https://about.flipboard.com/press/surf-launches-social-websites-a-new-model-for-social-media/