Tie Raises $10M for First-Party Data in E-Commerce

Miami-based startup Tie recently announced a $10 million Series A funding round aimed at helping e-commerce brands reduce their dependence on third-party advertising platforms by identifying and engaging their website visitors directly. This new capital injection highlights the ongoing shift in digital marketing towards first-party data and privacy-safe solutions, especially as third-party cookies are phased out by major browsers (Refresh Miami).

The Problem: Renting Audiences in E-Commerce

Many e-commerce businesses have long depended on third-party platforms such as Facebook, Google, and Instagram to reach and target potential customers. These platforms collect vast amounts of user data, enabling highly targeted advertising campaigns. However, the audiences ultimately belong to these platforms, forcing brands into a “renting” model where they pay to access potential buyers but lack direct ownership or control over these relationships.

Moreover, the traditional backbone of such targeting, third-party cookies, is rapidly becoming obsolete. Privacy regulations like the GDPR in Europe and the CCPA in California, alongside browser restrictions from Safari and Firefox, have already limited cookie tracking. Google Chrome plans to eliminate third-party cookies soon, leaving brands scrambling to find alternatives .

This environment creates a pressing need for e-commerce companies to build direct relationships with their website visitors through first-party data information collected directly from customers with their consent. This is precisely where Tie’s platform comes in.

Tie’s Mission and Technology

Founded by Michael Diesu and Jonathan Kopnick, Tie’s platform is designed to identify up to 95% of website visitors, including those browsing in incognito mode or using multiple devices. Through a proprietary data engine that connects 25 billion data points from over 1,000 sources and insights from 280 million opted-in consumers, Tie creates detailed visitor profiles while respecting privacy laws and consumer preferences (Refresh Miami).

By converting anonymous web traffic into known users, brands gain the ability to send personalized marketing messages, recover abandoned carts, and boost customer lifetime value. This approach gives brands ownership of their audiences instead of renting access from third-party platforms, reducing dependency and advertising costs.

Real-World Impact for Brands

Brands using Tie’s technology have reported significant benefits. One key result is a 152% increase in the size of email-able abandoned cart audiences. Abandoned carts are a major challenge in e-commerce, but recovering even a fraction of these lost sales can substantially increase revenue (Refresh Miami).

Additionally, brands have seen a 3% increase in online sales after implementing Tie’s platform. A prominent example is Caraway, a cookware brand that reported nearly $1 million in incremental sales in 2025 by leveraging Tie’s data-driven customer identification and engagement tools (Refresh Miami).

The Industry Shift to First-Party Data

The shift from third-party to first-party data reflects broader changes in the digital marketing landscape. Consumers demand more transparency and control over their data, and brands are seeking sustainable ways to engage customers directly. First-party data allows marketers to personalize communication while maintaining privacy compliance, ultimately building stronger customer trust and loyalty .

Industry studies have shown that businesses effectively utilizing first-party data experience higher engagement rates, improved retention, and more efficient advertising spend. Tie’s platform aligns with these trends by offering a privacy-first solution to audience identification and re-engagement.

Details on the Funding Round

The $10 million Series A funding round was led by Innovating Capital, with contributions from Stage 2 Capital, Hawke Ventures, and strategic angel investors including executives from Brex and Share Local Media. This round brings Tie’s total funding to $17 million, providing resources to accelerate product development and scale operations (Refresh Miami).

With this funding, Tie plans to expand its Miami-based engineering and product teams, focusing on deeper integrations with popular email marketing, commerce, and advertising platforms. Enhancing AI-driven customer identification and segmentation capabilities will be a priority, enabling brands to engage audiences more precisely and efficiently (Refresh Miami).

What This Means for E-Commerce Brands

For e-commerce brands, Tie’s platform offers a way to regain control over their marketing and customer relationships. By identifying website visitors directly and gathering first-party data, brands can reduce marketing costs and build stronger, longer-term connections with their customers. This autonomy is increasingly important as the digital advertising ecosystem changes rapidly.

Sarah Williams, a noted marketing analyst, recently commented that “owning your audience is the best hedge against the volatility of platform algorithms and privacy shifts. Tools like Tie enable brands to make that a reality,” highlighting the strategic advantage Tie provides.

Challenges and Best Practices

Despite the benefits, brands must approach first-party data collection carefully to maintain consumer trust and comply with data privacy laws. Tie helps simplify this by offering privacy-safe data solutions and pre-built integrations, but brands still need to focus on creating personalized, meaningful customer experiences.

Investing in data infrastructure and skilled marketing teams remains essential. Brands must continuously monitor performance metrics such as repeat purchase rates, customer engagement, and conversion rates to optimize campaigns effectively.

The Bigger Picture

The evolution toward first-party data-driven marketing is not just a response to regulatory changes but a fundamental transformation in how brands interact with customers online. With third-party cookies becoming obsolete, solutions like Tie are poised to become critical tools for e-commerce success.

By empowering brands to build owned audiences and engage customers in privacy-conscious ways, Tie is helping reshape the future of digital marketing and e-commerce growth (Refresh Miami).