Jay Graber

She’s Building a Social Media Platform That Puts Users in Control

When Elon Musk acquired Twitter in October 2022 and turned it into X, many users began fleeing the platform and looking for an alternative. Enter Bluesky, which launched in early 2023. The platform was first pitched by Twitter Founder Jack Dorsey, who wanted to build an “open protocol” social network. On Bluesky, users can tweak their own algorithms to see only the posts they prefer. The platform is helmed by software engineer Jay Graber, who once worked in a factory soldering bitcoin mining equipment before leading Bluesky through one of the fastest growth spurts in social media history. As the site picked up new users by the millions, Graber put in 16-hour days, managing her then-20-person staff, courting investors, and recruiting new hires. The hard work has paid off for Graber and her team: Bluesky now has more than 35 million users and a valuation of $700 million after two funding rounds totaling $23 million.

By Audrey Goodson Kingo