Jay Graber, the former CEO of Bluesky who recently entered the position of chief innovation officer, has only been in his new position for a month. However his tenure has already produced a major release: Attie, an agent application designed to help users customize their social media feeds and algorithms. Attie reflects many of the values that Graber emphasized during his time leading Bluesky. It emphasizes personalization and puts productive AI in the hands of users rather than companies. Launched on March 28, the app is currently in beta testing.
Currently, many large social networks are using AI to increase user time spent, harvest training data and improve abstract algorithms, said Graber, who noted that such companies should instead address problems arising from technology, such as the flood of AI-generated content. “We think AI should work for people, not platforms.”
Built on the Bluesky decentralized protocol, Attie allows users to create their own social media feed by typing in requests. Examples on Attie’s website include: “show me electronic music and experimental sounds from people in my network,” or “posts about mythology, folklore and folk music; especially Celtic traditions.” Queries can be written in natural language instead of code, Graber said, noting that the rapid development of agent tools has made it “increasingly possible to customize software without any coding experience.”
Attie is the first product created by Bluesky’s Exploration Team, a special unit led by Graber in his new role. He previously served as CEO for more than four years, appointed in 2021 by Jack Dorsey – then CEO of Twitter (now X) – to lead the company merged with Twitter before it was spun off as an independent entity.
Graber, who has worked at blockchain company SkuChain, cryptocurrency project Zcash, and co-founded events app Happening, made his move to the CEO role as a way to return to his passion for “creating new things.” Toni Schneider, former Automattic CEO and partner at True Ventures, has stepped in as interim CEO while Bluesky’s board searches for a permanent replacement.
“I think he realized there was so much he wanted to build, and doing the CEO job kept him busy,” Schneider told TechCrunch of Graber’s internal pivot in a recent interview. Since refocusing on products, “it’s become clear that this is his happy place,” added Schneider, who described Attie as a human-centered AI product that will ensure technology benefits everyone.
Shortly after the CEO shake-up, Bluesky revealed that it had raised $100 million in a Series B funding round in April of last year. That investment, Schneider said, gives the company at least three years of funding.
It is unclear whether Bluesky will end up paying Attie or keeping it free. The platform is testing various subscription and market models but remains committed to remaining ad-free. With 43 million users — many of whom joined after Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter in 2022 — Bluesky has positioned itself as a “billion-proof” alternative to traditional social media.
One thing is certain: Attie will always be a separate app from Bluesky, giving users the option to opt in. As Bluesky evolves, Attie “is going to be where we explore agency social,” Graber said. “I want it to accelerate community expansion and put power back in the hands of users.”
