Bluesky formalized the appointment of Toni Schneider as its permanent CEO this week, concluding a period of temporary administration that lasted four months, which began after Jay Graber's departure in March. This announcement was released through an official company statement and subsequently confirmed by Schneider on his personal blog.
While Schneider provisionally led the company, Bluesky implemented features such as group chats, a data specification with permission control, and introduced a new artificial intelligence-based product. The network registered the entry of over two million users, and about 200 new applications were made available on Atmosphere, the open ecosystem built on the AT protocol.
Jay Graber, who currently holds the position of Director of Innovation and Chair of the Bluesky board, commented on the progress, stating: 'The team is delivering faster than ever, and the ecosystem is growing around us.' She added enthusiasm for Schneider's arrival as permanent CEO.
On his blog, Schneider established a comparison illustrating his perspective for Bluesky. He mentioned that WordPress started with independent bloggers and developers and today supports 43% of the internet, hosting a vast ecosystem of thousands of companies generating over ten billion dollars annually in revenue. Although Automattic is a fundamental part of this scenario, no single entity holds total dominance.
Schneider expressed the belief that 'Atmosphere can be for social what WordPress was for websites.' He projected that as Atmosphere evolves, Bluesky will consolidate itself as a relevant organization within this environment, alongside numerous other successful ventures.
The executive outlined the next priority goal: developing more intimate spaces and restricted communities within Atmosphere. According to him, this initiative has the potential to drive the next phase of growth and innovation. Furthermore, Schneider highlighted recent applications that caught his attention in the ecosystem, such as Skysquare, Gifthood, Roomy, Mu, co/core, and Standard Reader, all launched in recent weeks.
Concluding his remarks, Schneider emphasized that the company is only at the beginning of this journey, anticipating a decade of promising work dedicated to building an open web.
