What Bluesky's $700m Valuation Really Means
Can a VC-funded platform truly offer refuge from billionaire-controlled social media, or is it simply a matter of trading one form of corporate influence for another?
Bluesky, the social media platform that emerged from Twitter's internal incubator, is raising a new round of funding led by Bain Capital Ventures at a $700 million valuation, as first reported by Business Insider. The platform has grown from 3 million to 25.9 million users in 2024, with nearly half of that growth occurring in the weeks following Donald Trump's election victory. As users seek alternatives to billionaire-controlled platforms, this raises an interesting question: are they simply trading one form of control for another?
The timing couldn't be more perfect for Bluesky's ascent. Meta just announced the dismantling of its fact-checking apparatus and a shift toward what they euphemistically call "personalized" political content - corporate speak for algorithmic echo chambers. Their new chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, frames this as "undoing mission creep," but it looks more like mission realignment with the incoming administration.
The stars seem to have aligned in Bluesky's favour. But the fundamental tension here isn't about politics - it's about incentives. Venture capital doesn't deploy funding out of altruism or commitment to digital democracy. The standard VC playbook demands exponential growth followed by monetization. Bluesky claims it "doesn't want to rely on advertising," but then what? Subscription models? Premium features? The moment you take VC money, you're signing up for their endgame.
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