Viant
Viant was a San Francisco-founded Internet consulting firm that combined business strategy, design, and technology services during the dot-com era.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Viant Inc. was an Internet consulting and digital-services company founded in 1996 in San Francisco. It began under the name Silicon Valley Internet Partners, commonly abbreviated as SVIP, and was established by Eric Greenberg, Duc Haba, Dwayne Nesmith, and Robbie Vann-Adibé. The company operated during the formative period of commercial Internet adoption, when businesses were seeking outside expertise to plan online strategies, develop digital customer experiences, and implement the technology systems needed to support them. Viant's service model brought together business strategy, design, and technology rather than treating website development as a purely technical activity. This positioned the company within the early Internet-consulting sector alongside firms such as Scient, Razorfish, USWeb, and MarchFirst. Its work was associated with the broader effort by established companies to create Internet businesses, online services, and digitally enabled customer relationships. The company attracted venture capital from Mohr Davidow Ventures, Trident Capital, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. In mid-1996, Robert Gett became chief executive officer and the corporate headquarters moved from the San Francisco area to Boston, Massachusetts. Founder Eric Greenberg left the company in 1997. In 1998, the business adopted the Viant name, while its California operations moved to San Francisco's South of Market district, an area that became closely associated with the city's technology and Internet economy. Viant went public in June 1999 during the peak of the dot-com market. By the end of that year, its market capitalization had risen above $2 billion, reflecting investor enthusiasm for Internet consulting and digital transformation businesses. The valuation was not sustained after the technology-market downturn. As demand and financing conditions deteriorated following the dot-com bust, Viant carried out multiple rounds of layoffs between 2000 and 2002. In September 2002, Divine acquired Viant for $96 million. The transaction ended Viant's independent existence as a public Internet-consulting company. Viant is therefore best understood as a defunct early digital-consulting brand whose history illustrates both the rapid expansion of Internet professional services in the late 1990s and the severe contraction of the sector after the dot-com crash.
History
Viant originated in San Francisco in 1996 as Silicon Valley Internet Partners, or SVIP. The company was founded by Eric Greenberg, Duc Haba, Dwayne Nesmith, and Robbie Vann-Adibé at a time when companies were beginning to treat the Internet as a strategic commercial channel rather than simply an experimental communications medium. SVIP raised venture capital from Mohr Davidow Ventures, Trident Capital, and Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers. Its business combined three areas that were often separated in traditional professional services: business strategy, design, and technology. This integrated model allowed clients to receive advice on online business direction alongside assistance with digital interfaces and technical implementation. The company consequently became part of the early Internet-consulting industry, a sector that expanded rapidly as established corporations and emerging digital businesses invested in websites, online commerce, and Internet-enabled customer services. In mid-1996, Robert Gett was appointed chief executive officer, and the company's headquarters were moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Greenberg left the company in 1997. In 1998, the firm changed its name to Viant. Its California offices were subsequently moved to San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, a location associated with the city's late-1990s technology economy. Viant entered the public markets in June 1999. Investor enthusiasm for Internet-related businesses pushed its market capitalization above $2 billion by the end of that year. The company’s performance and valuation were closely tied to a period of exceptionally high expectations for Internet adoption and for the growth of outside digital consultants. The dot-com bust changed those conditions. As technology investment slowed and many Internet ventures failed or reduced spending, Viant undertook several rounds of layoffs between 2000 and 2002. The contraction demonstrated the vulnerability of consulting firms whose growth depended on the expansion budgets of Internet businesses and on public-market confidence in digital-economy companies. In September 2002, Divine acquired Viant for $96 million. The acquisition brought Viant's standalone corporate history to an end. The company remains historically relevant as an example of the first generation of Internet consultancies, combining strategic, creative, and technical services before the later consolidation and evolution of the digital-agency market.
- 2002
Divine acquires Viant
[1]Divine purchases Viant in September for $96 million.
- 2000
Post-bubble workforce reductions begin
[1]Viant begins multiple rounds of layoffs as the dot-com downturn weakens demand for Internet consulting.
- 1999
Viant goes public
[1]Viant completes its initial public offering in June; its market capitalization exceeds $2 billion by the end of the year.
- 1998
The company adopts the Viant name
[1]Silicon Valley Internet Partners is renamed Viant, and its California offices move to San Francisco's South of Market area.
- 1997
A founder leaves the company
[1]Eric Greenberg departs Viant.
- 1996
Silicon Valley Internet Partners is founded
[1]Eric Greenberg, Duc Haba, Dwayne Nesmith, and Robbie Vann-Adibé establish the company in San Francisco under the SVIP name.
- 1996
Robert Gett becomes chief executive
[1]Robert Gett is appointed CEO and the corporate headquarters move to Boston, Massachusetts.
Products and positioning
An early Internet consulting firm focused on combining strategic advice, digital design, and technology execution for organizations building online businesses and customer experiences.
Consulting service · 1996
Internet consulting
Viant advised organizations on how to use the Internet as a business and customer channel. Its consulting work formed part of a broader integrated service model that connected commercial strategy with digital design and technical delivery.
Professional service · 1996
Digital strategy and design
The company provided strategic and design capabilities for online initiatives, helping clients shape digital propositions and user-facing experiences during the early commercial-Web period.
Technology consulting · 1996
Technology services
Viant also delivered technology-related consulting and implementation services. These capabilities complemented its strategy and design practices and allowed the firm to present itself as an end-to-end Internet partner.
Brand decisions
2002
Sale to DivineM&ABackground
The dot-com bust and reduced Internet spending led to layoffs and weakened conditions for standalone Internet consultancies.
Action taken
Divine acquired Viant in September 2002 for $96 million.
Aftermath
Viant ceased operating as an independent publicly traded company.
Acquisition price. $96 million (September 2002)
1999
Initial public offeringOtherBackground
Internet consulting companies benefited from strong investor interest in the commercial potential of the Web.
Action taken
Viant went public in June 1999.
Aftermath
Its market capitalization exceeded $2 billion by the end of 1999, before the subsequent dot-com downturn.
Market capitalization. More than $2 billion (By the end of 1999)
1998
Rebrand as ViantStrategyBackground
The company operated under the Silicon Valley Internet Partners name during the early expansion of its Internet consulting business.
Action taken
It adopted the shorter Viant name and continued developing its integrated strategy, design, and technology positioning.
Aftermath
The rebrand established the corporate identity used through its public-company period and eventual acquisition.
Recent events
- Unconfirmed
Viant launches IPO[2]
Viant launched an IPO, intending to offer 7,500,000 shares of its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Market under the ticker DSP. The offering could raise as much as $181 million.
Sources2 sources
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