Bluesky secures $100M Series B funding following CEO transition

The social network Bluesky is entering a new stage of growth after securing $100 million in Series B funding. The round, led by Bain Capital Crypto, was finalised in April 2025 but has only recently been disclosed.

Other participants in the funding include Alumni Ventures, True Ventures, Anthos Capital, Bloomberg Beta, and the Knight Foundation. This follows Bluesky’s earlier $15 million Series A round in 2024, led by Blockchain Capital, as well as an $8 million seed round backed by Neo and other angel investors the year prior. The company has not shared an updated valuation after this latest investment.

The funding announcement comes soon after CEO Jay Graber confirmed she will step down from her leadership position and transition into the role of chief innovation officer. The move reflects her intent to focus more on product development, while the company searches for a new executive to lead its next phase of business growth.

Since its Series A, Bluesky has grown rapidly, increasing its user base from 13 million to over 43 million globally. Alongside this growth, its ecosystem built on the AT Protocol (ATProto) has continued to expand. This includes emerging platforms like the video app Skylight and the Instagram-style app Flashes, as well as larger companies such as Flipboard, which is developing its open social app, Surf. New communities have also formed within the network, including Blacksky, which aims to support Black users on social media.

The involvement of another crypto-focused investment firm may prompt concerns among some users, especially as Bluesky has not integrated cryptocurrency features into its platform and is not built on blockchain infrastructure. However, Graber’s earlier work with the cryptocurrency Zcash influenced the platform’s decentralised design, helping attract investor interest in the crypto space.

In a previous interview, Graber explained that while “Web3” is often linked with cryptocurrency, Bluesky’s approach is more about evolving social media beyond centralised systems. She described it as a shift from Web 2.0 toward a more open and distributed form of online interaction.

The new capital has supported the expansion of Bluesky’s team and the ongoing development of both its main app and the ATProto technology behind it. This infrastructure powers a wider open social network known as the Atmosphere, which now includes around 20 billion public records such as posts, likes, comments, and other interactions.

Interest from developers is also rising, with over 400,000 monthly downloads of ATProto development tools. The company also notes that more than 1,000 apps built on the protocol are being used each week.