Bluesky
Facts
- HQ
- Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- Sectors
- Software Development
- Founded
- 2021
- Employees
- 90
- Stage
- Series B
Sweet Stash — cofounded by Martin Starr and twins Ezra and Adeev Potash — shifts gummy production to Ferrara’s Jelly Belly plant in North Chicago, quadrupling output
Sweet Stash, a gummy startup cofounded by actor Martin Starr and twins Ezra and Adeev Potash, moved production from Albion, Nebraska to Ferrara’s former Jelly Belly plant in North Chicago in April, quadrupling output and expanding retail reach while keeping additive-free recipes.
GeekWire and Greater Seattle Partners call for nominations for 2026 Uncommon Thinkers; deadline Sept. 18, winners honored Dec. 10
Nominations for GeekWire’s 2026 Uncommon Thinkers Awards — honoring Seattle-area inventors, scientists, technologists and entrepreneurs — close Friday, Sept. 18 at 11 a.m. PT; winners will be chosen by a judges panel and celebrated at the GeekWire Gala on Dec. 10. The fourth annual program, run with Greater Seattle Partners, seeks nominees who demonstrate innovation, leadership and measurable impact.
Flipboard acquires Portland startup Graze to integrate its algorithm engine used by 12M users and 41B posts
Flipboard has acquired Portland startup Graze to integrate Graze’s customizable algorithm engine into Flipboard’s open social web products, combining Flipboard’s discovery tools with Graze’s creator-facing algorithm builder used by 12 million users and responsible for delivering over 41 billion posts.
Las Vegas Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty invests in Nukleus and becomes public face of career OS for athletes
Las Vegas Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty invested in and will serve as the public face of Nukleus, a Washington-state startup building a career operating system to centralize athletes' business data and coordinate agents, lawyers, accountants, and advisors. The platform aims to replace fragmented communication (emails, PDFs, spreadsheets) with a single shared source to streamline contract, tax, finance, and endorsement management ahead of Nukleus's public launch later this month.
Raiders RB Ashton Jeanty Invests in Nukleus, to Lead Push for Athlete 'Career OS' Before Public Launch
Raiders running back Ashton Jeanty has invested in and become the public face of Nukleus, a career operating system designed to centralize athletes’ business information and workflows. Nukleus aims to replace fragmented emails, PDFs and spreadsheets so agents, lawyers, advisors and brands can collaborate from a single source ahead of the platform’s public launch later this month.
Proxy Foods AI Raises $6M Seed Round Led by Ted Leonsis to Expand Agentic AI Food R&D Platform
Proxy Foods AI, a Washington, DC–based company led by CEO Panos Kostopoulos, raised a $6 million seed round led by Ted Leonsis to expand its agentic AI platform for food and beverage product development, which counts customers like Barilla and Gefsinus and serves firms averaging over $1 billion in revenue.
Meta upgrades Meta AI with Muse Spark 1.1 to run scheduled tasks, offers Model API preview and WhatsApp delivery
Meta released Muse Spark 1.1 (announced July 9, 2026) and on July 24 upgraded Meta AI into an autonomous task-runner with scheduled automations, a 1M-token context window, parallel subagent execution, tool use and Gmail/Calendar integration; WhatsApp delivery and a public-preview Model API with $20 credits amplify pressure on standalone AI assistant startups. Meta published benchmark scores for Muse Spark 1.1 (MCP Atlas 88.1, JobBench 54.7, Humanity's Last Exam 62.1 with tools, Finance Agent v2 57.2) but warns these are company-published numbers, not independent proof.
X Social Media App Crashes Globally, Affecting Thousands of Users Today
X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, experienced a global outage affecting thousands of users today. The crash disrupted service and left users unable to access the app.
FDA Reverses Opposition to UniQure’s Huntington’s Therapy Ahead of U.S. Approval Filing; Eli Lilly Acquires 4E Therapeutics
The FDA has reversed its opposition to UniQure's experimental Huntington's disease therapy, allowing the company to submit it for U.S. approval. Meanwhile, Eli Lilly has acquired 4E Therapeutics, signaling ongoing shifts in the biotech sector.
Bluesky Raises $100M Series B Led by Bain Capital Crypto, Reaches 43M Users Amid Leadership Shift
Bluesky raised $100 million in a Series B round led by Bain Capital Crypto in April 2025, following a $15 million Series A in October 2024. The company reported a 60% user growth last year, reaching 43 million users, while undergoing leadership changes with Toni Schneider as interim CEO.
Bluesky discloses $100M Series B led by Bain Capital Crypto that closed in April as new CEO takes charge
Bluesky disclosed a previously unannounced $100 million Series B led by Bain Capital Crypto that closed last April, and announced a new CEO ten days after founder Jay Graber stepped down.
Jay Graber Steps Down as Bluesky CEO, Toni Schneider Named Interim CEO; Graber Becomes Chief Innovation Officer
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is stepping down to become chief innovation officer as the company hires Toni Schneider as interim CEO to focus on scaling and execution. Bluesky has grown its user base to 43 million and distinguishes itself with the open AT Protocol for social media.
Uncommon Thinkers 2025: Solar spacecraft, sci-fi biology, destroying PFAS, beyond AI chatbots, and better social media
On this special episode of the GeekWire Podcast, recorded backstage at the GeekWire Gala at the Showbox Sodo, we sit down with five of the inventors, scientists, and entrepreneurs selected as the Seattle region's 2025 Uncommon Thinkers, in partnership with Greater Seattle Partners. Jeff Thornburg spent years building rocket engines for Elon Musk at SpaceX and Paul Allen at Stratolaunch. Now, as CEO of Portal Space Systems, he's moved past chemical rockets to revive a concept NASA studied decades ago but never pursued — a spacecraft powered by focused sunlight. He calls it a "steam engine for space." Read the…
2025 GeekWire Gala Hosts 750+ Seattle Tech Enthusiasts with Robots and Honors 'Uncommon Thinkers' Innovators
The 2025 GeekWire Gala brought together over 750 members of Seattle's tech community at Showbox SoDo for an evening of celebration featuring robots, games, and networking. The event also honored the region’s 'Uncommon Thinkers,' recognizing innovative leaders from multiple tech companies.
GeekWire Honors Six 'Uncommon Thinkers' Transforming Industries with Innovative Startups in 2025
GeekWire's third annual 'Uncommon Thinkers' honors six innovators including Anindya Roy, Kiana Ehsani, and Jeff Thornburg, who are leading startups transforming industries with breakthrough technologies in biotech, social media, and space propulsion. These leaders will be celebrated at the GeekWire Gala in Seattle for their creative and mission-driven approaches to solving significant challenges.
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber Builds AT Protocol to Decentralize Social Networks Beyond Company Control
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber is developing the AT Protocol, a decentralized social network foundation designed to persist beyond any single company and allow users to move their social data freely across different apps. Her vision aims to transform how online communities form, grow, and self-govern.
Mark Cuban Backs Seattle Startup Skylight Social Developing TikTok-Like App on AT Protocol Amid TikTok Ban Concerns
Seattle startup Skylight Social, founded by Victoria White and Reed Harmeyer, raised funding from Mark Cuban and Graham & Walker to develop a TikTok-like short-form video app built on the AT Protocol, enabling users to own and transfer their data across platforms. The app is a Public Benefit Corporation committed to positive social impact and aims to capitalize on TikTok's uncertain future amid a potential U.S. ban.
Victoria White and Reed Harmeyer Raise Investment from Mark Cuban to Launch 'Unbannable' TikTok Alternative Skylight Social in 10 Weeks
Victoria White and Reed Harmeyer developed an 'unbannable' TikTok alternative called Skylight Social in just 10 weeks, secured investment from Mark Cuban, and quickly expanded their beta beyond testflight capacity. Skylight Social operates as a Public Benefit Corporation within the AT Protocol ecosystem, aiming to offer users control over their social media experience without arbitrary bans or algorithm changes.
ATmosphere Conference Spotlights AT Protocol Enabling Decentralized Social Web with Bluesky and Obama Joins
The ATmosphere Conference in Seattle highlighted the emerging Authenticated Transfer (AT) Protocol, a decentralized social web system enabling users to own their identity and data, exemplified by the Bluesky social network. This protocol aims to disrupt current social apps by allowing interoperable, user-controlled data across multiple apps, with notable figures like Barack Obama joining Bluesky recently.
GeekWire Podcast Discusses OpenAI's $500B Stargate Project with Microsoft, Madrona’s $770M Fund, and Industry Impact
The GeekWire Podcast covers OpenAI's Stargate Project with Microsoft and others, Satya Nadella's investment remarks, Elon Musk's potential influence on tech policy, and Madrona's $770M new funds boosting Pacific NW startups.
Stargate, OpenAI and Microsoft; BlueSky in Seattle; and Madrona's big new funds
This week, we delve into the Project Stargate announcement by OpenAI, Oracle and Softbank, in conjunction with President Trump, and assess the implications for OpenAi's relationship with Microsoft. We explain what Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella really meant with his CNBC zinger about the Stargate investment, and consider how Elon Musk's involvement in the new administration could play out in the tech industry. PLUS, we discuss Madrona's big new funds and the potential impact on startup activity in the Pacific NW, and find a revealing piece of Microsoft history on an old CD-ROM. Related stories: Microsoft and OpenAI tweak the terms…
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Jay Graber Chief Innovation Officer
