Bluesky’s Big Bet, and Are Deals Dead in Silicon Valley?

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Bluesky, the Twitter spinoff, is now open for public sign-ups. Can its dreams of decentralization fix social media? We talk with the company’s chief executive, Jay Graber. Then, the New York Times reporter Erin Griffith on how Adobe’s failure to acquire Figma has spooked tech companies and upset Silicon Valley’s start-up pipeline. And finally, updates on ancient scrolls and artificial intelligence, Google’s chatbots, and the fight between record companies and TikTok.

Today’s guests:

• Jay Graber, chief executive of Bluesky

• Erin Griffith, reporter for The New York Times

Additional reading:

• Bluesky, a Trendy Rival to X, Finally Opens to the Public

• After Its $20 Billion Windfall Evaporated, a Start-Up Picks Up the Pieces

• First Passages of Rolled-Up Herculaneum Scroll Revealed

• Google Releases Gemini, an A.I.-Driven Chatbot and Voice Assistant

• Universal Music Group Pulls Songs From TikTok

Credits

“Hard Fork” is hosted by Kevin Roose and Casey Newton and produced by Davis Land and Rachel Cohn. This episode was edited by Paula Szuchman. Engineering by Alyssa Moxley and original music by Dan Powell, Elisheba Ittoop, Marion Lozano and Rowan Niemisto. Fact-checking by Caitlin Love.

Special thanks to Pui-Wing Tam, Nell Gallogly, Kate LoPresti and Jeffrey Miranda.