Bluesky has confirmed Toni Schneider as its permanent CEO, dropping the “interim” title he has held since March 2026. Schneider announced the change on his personal blog on July 10, 2026, writing: “The interim part of the title is gone. I’m loving the mission and the job, and I’m all in as Bluesky’s official CEO.”
Schneider stepped into the role when Jay Graber, Bluesky’s longtime CEO, transitioned to chief innovation officer in March. Schneider previously served as the founding CEO of Automattic — the company behind WordPress and Tumblr — and is a partner at venture capital firm True Ventures. Both Automattic and True Ventures are investors in Bluesky.
Bluesky was originally spun off from Twitter and grew into a destination for users seeking an alternative after Elon Musk acquired the platform in 2022. Twitter was subsequently renamed X and is now a subsidiary of Musk’s combined rocket and AI company, SpaceXAI. Under Graber’s leadership, Bluesky grew to 43 million users and significantly expanded its underlying AT Protocol, a system that allows Bluesky and other apps to share the same social network.
The platform’s growth has not been without challenges. Bluesky saw a sharp rise in users following Donald Trump’s re-election — a period when Musk was most active in politics — but has since experienced a decline in both engagement and its overall user base. Some have questioned whether the platform is losing momentum.
Schneider has signaled his priorities, stating that one of his first objectives is to “create smaller spaces and more private communities,” which he said would “unlock the next wave of growth and innovation.” Whether those efforts can reverse the platform’s recent trajectory remains to be seen. “We’re at the very beginning of this story,” Schneider wrote.
Source: TechCrunch