Bluesky just pulled in a massive $100 million Series B round, led by Bain Capital Crypto. The funding, quietly closed in April 2025, was revealed days after CEO Jay Graber announced her move from the top seat to chief innovation officer. The company is now on the hunt for a new CEO to steer Bluesky toward commercial growth.
This cash injection comes as Bluesky’s user base rockets from 13 million to over 43 million global users in just a year. For players in the open social media space, that’s a serious power-up. The AT Protocol (ATProto) now powers a growing ecosystem of interoperable apps, from upstarts like video app Skylight and Instagram alternative Flashes to big names like Flipboard, which is building its own open social app, Surf.
What’s in it for users and developers?
For everyday users, Bluesky’s decentralized approach means more control and less lock-in. Communities like Blacksky are emerging to support niche groups, and the platform’s open nature is driving new kinds of social experiences. The network-now called the Atmosphere-hosts around 20 billion public records, including posts, likes, and comments.
Developers are jumping in, too. Over 400,000 downloads of Bluesky’s developer tools (SDK) happen every month. More than a thousand apps built on ATProto see weekly use, showing real momentum in the open social space. This is a sharp contrast to closed networks where building new features or communities often hits a wall.
Crypto investors, but not a crypto platform
The Series B round attracted new and existing backers, including Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, Anthos Capital, Bloomberg Beta, and Knight Foundation. The addition of another crypto-focused VC has raised eyebrows, but Bluesky isn’t built on blockchain tech and hasn’t integrated cryptocurrencies. Still, Graber’s background with Zcash and her vision for decentralized social media have kept crypto investors interested.
Bluesky’s tech is about open, distributed social networks-not tokens or blockchains. Graber summed it up: “The term Web3 got very associated with cryptocurrency, so it’s not a good word to use for what we’re doing. But if you think about Web3 as evolving the social Web 2.0, that kind of is what we’re doing. We’re evolving social media that was based in centralized companies into something that is open and distributed.”
Scaling up and what’s next
The new funding is fueling Bluesky’s team expansion and ongoing development of both the main app and the ATProto backbone. With over a thousand apps running on the protocol and a surging user base, Bluesky is positioning itself as the go-to alternative for users tired of closed, ad-driven platforms.
Speculation: The search for a new CEO signals a push toward monetization and broader mainstream adoption. But for now, Bluesky’s focus is on scaling its tech and community, not chasing crypto trends.
The bottom line
- Bluesky’s $100M Series B will accelerate open social app development.
- Decentralized, interoperable social media is gaining real traction beyond crypto hype.
- Leadership change hints at a new growth phase, but core tech remains blockchain-free.