Bluesky CEO Jay Graber steps down

Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is stepping down from the top leadership position and transitioning to a new role as chief innovation officer, the company announced Monday.

Graber, who has helped grow the X and Threads competitor to 43 million users and furthered the development of its underlying AT Protocol, will be replaced by Toni Schneider as interim CEO. Schneider is the former CEO of Automattic and a partner at True Ventures

Both Automattic and True Ventures are investors in Bluesky.

In a blog post announcing the changes, Graber explained that, as a more mature company, Bluesky needs a “seasoned operator focused on scaling and execution.” Graber said she feels better suited to building Bluesky’s technology itself.

“I’m most energized by exploring new ideas, bringing a vision to life, and helping people discover their strengths. Transitioning to a more focused role where I can do what brings me energy is my way of putting that belief into practice,” Graber said.

The company said its board will search for a permanent chief executive. In the meantime, Schneider’s experience with Automattic, which commercialized WordPress’s open source technology through WordPress.com, positions him to understand the challenges that come with balancing open source tech with the needs of a company to generate a profit.

Under Graber, Bluesky has seen remarkable growth at times, particularly after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, now X, led to a number of changes to the platform’s product and community. Bluesky has also struggled with moderation issues as it scaled. Some users expected the company to apply a heavier hand, while Bluesky promoted the use of moderation tools that users themselves could manage.

Now the company is facing a new challenge: complying with a growing number of age-assurance laws around social media. One such law in Mississippi led to Bluesky choosing to block the state entirely. Other state laws, like those in Ohio, South Dakota, and Wyoming, have forced the company to begin age verification. For someone interested in building a new protocol for social networking, these compliance battles are arguably less fun.

In his blog post, Schneider touted the company’s growth to more than 40 million users and an ecosystem of over 500 active apps. He said the focus now would be on the next phase of growth, which includes allowing third-party builders to thrive. During this transition, Schneider will remain active in his role at True Ventures as well.

“Bluesky has cracked a case that stumped the industry for years: How to create a social network that has the best of both worlds. The personal freedom and ownership that comes from being part of an open network and the immediacy and ease of use that people expect from modern social services,” Schneider wrote.