Latest news with #NikitaBier
TechCrunch
01-07-2025
- Business
- TechCrunch
Nikita Bier joins X as Head of Product: ‘I've officially posted my way to the top'
In Brief Elon Musk's X has appointed serial entrepreneur and growth hacker Nikita Bier as its new Head of Product. 'I've officially posted my way to the top,' Bier wrote on X, alluding to his large presence on the app. Bier is best known as the founder of apps like Gas, which was acquired by Discord, and TBH, which was acquired by Facebook. Both Gas and TBH were apps geared toward teens, who were encouraged to leave one another compliments. More recently, Bier has been working as a venture partner at Lightspeed and as an advisor to the Solana Foundation. Never give up — Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) June 30, 2025 'While I already spend every waking hour on this app, I'll now be spending that time helping others unlock that same value,' Bier wrote on X about his new position.' And we'll certainly be leveraging the power of Grok to create hyper-relevant timelines and help people understand everything that's happening. Thanks @elonmusk and the X team for inviting me to work on the product that I live and breathe.' Elon Musk, in return, posted 'Welcome to X' and replied to Bier, saying 'LFG' followed by two rocket ship emojis. Bier's success to date has relied not only on his ability to build apps that resonate with a younger demographic, but also on driving growth for those apps over a short period. At X, he could potentially build features that drive adoption beyond the user base that's typically drawn to text-first social networks. Techcrunch event Save $450 on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Save $200+ on your TechCrunch All Stage pass Build smarter. Scale faster. Connect deeper. Join visionaries from Precursor Ventures, NEA, Index Ventures, Underscore VC, and beyond for a day packed with strategies, workshops, and meaningful connections. Boston, MA | REGISTER NOW Already, he's hinted at plans for what comes next, posting to X that 'someone should fix notifications,' and suggesting he had prototyped a deeper Grok integration during his interview.
BBC News
01-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Musk's X appoints 'king of virality' in bid to boost growth
Elon Musk has appointed a product developer responsible for several successful youth-focused social media apps to a senior role at Bier has been made X's head of product three years after publicly suggesting on the platform - then known as Twitter - that it should employ him."I've officially posted my way to the top," he wrote in a post on X announcing the role.X has been on a rollercoaster ride since it was bought by the world's richest man for $44bn (£38.1bn) in October has faced problems with advertisers, seen high profile users quit and wrestled with the emergence of new rivals Bluesky and Threads. However, experts say Mr Bier's appointment could boost its prospects with a key Benvie, chief executive of social media consultancy Battenhall, said Mr Bier's experience in developing features that engage younger users, like anonymous polling, makes him hopeful his arrival could bring some "X-factor" to the platform."Getting that knack for what consumers want, and Gen Z users in particular, is precisely what X needs right now to turn things around, as all is not lost for the once-greatest social network," he told the BBC. Successful - and controversial A former student at the University of California, Berkeley, Mr Bier grew to prominence after launching a slew of anonymous apps aimed at included tbh (an acronym for "to be honest"), a platform allowing US high school students to participate in anonymous, friendly polls. It was acquired by Meta in 2023, his compliments-focused app Gas was bought by Discord, after it climbed up US app download capital firm Lightspeed referred to Mr Bier as the "king of virality" when he joined them as an advisor last the means by which Bier's now defunct app tbh reportedly targeted younger users were also somewhat reported in 2018 that it had obtained a memo in which tbh's founders told Facebook colleagues, post-acquisition, of "a psychological trick" that could be used to amass teen included scouring Instagram for high school students' accounts, it said. How Musk transformed social media giant X in 2024In his post on X Mr Bier described his new employer as "the most important social network in the world". "While I already spend every waking hour on this app, I'll now be spending that time helping others unlock that same value," he would include "leveraging the power" of X's generative AI chatbot Grok to develop "hyper-relevant timelines," he added.X's usage and popularity has fluctuated under Musk's leadership of the said in March that the platform had more than 600m monthly active according to Pew Research Centre findings published in December, 17% of US said they use X - down from 23% in 2022 and 33% a decade ago. Talent tensions The appointment of Mr Bier at X comes at a time when tech firms are jostling for top staff, namely sought-after engineers, to spearhead their AI Zuckerberg announced a new "superintelligence" team at Meta on Monday, after reports it had targeted OpenAI staff with $100m-plus compensation includes Nat Friedman, former boss of software development platform GitHub, Alexandr Wang of data annotation firm Scale AI and co-creators of OpenAI's OpenAI executive likened the company's approach to its staff with huge compensation offers to a break-in, according to an internal memo seen by Chen, its chief research officer, reportedly said he was working with OpenAI boss Sam Altman on "creative ways to recognise and reward top talent".The BBC has asked OpenAI for comment. Sign up for our Tech Decoded newsletter to follow the world's top tech stories and trends. Outside the UK? Sign up here.
The Hindu
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Elon Musk's X platform hire Nikita Bier as head of product
Nikita Bier, the co-founder of social networking apps like tbh and Gas, has joined X as head of product. Bier, who had been quietly working with Elon Musk's social media platform as an advisor since October last year, had helped integrate xAI's chatbot Grok on to the platform. 'Ladies and gentlemen, I've officially posted my way to the top: I'm joining X as Head of Product. X is the most important social network in the world. It's where internet culture originates and where the world's most influential people convene,' Bier said in a post on X. 'While I already spend every waking hour on this app, I'll now be spending that time helping others unlock that same value. And we'll certainly be leveraging the power of Grok to create hyper-relevant timelines and help people understand everything that's happening,' he went on. Bier sold tbh to Meta in 2017 after it went viral, while Gas was acquired by Discord in 2023. Since then, he has acquired a reputation for building consumer apps that quickly gain popularity. The news indicates that X will focus on pushing user engagement further as it faces stagnant user growth and revenue generation. Bier also joined Lightspeed Ventures as a product growth partner in September last year and serves as an advisor for Solana Labs.
The Verge
01-07-2025
- Business
- The Verge
X has a new head of product.
Posted Jul 1, 2025 at 12:10 AM UTC X has a new head of product. Nikita Bier, a co-founder of tbh (acquired by Meta, then Facebook, in 2017) and Gas (acquired by Discord in 2023), will lead product at the social network. Bier once made a pitch for the role directly to Musk on X in 2022, shortly after Musk revealed his intentions to buy the company (then Twitter).
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
X Hires New Head of Product to Re-Ignite Growth
This story was originally published on Social Media Today. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Social Media Today newsletter. This could be a significant hiring for X, and the future development of the app. Today, app designer Nikita Bier has announced that he is joining X as head of product, which will see Bier bring his expertise to the app, and could spark all-new growth opportunities. Bier is the creator of two previously viral apps, in 'tbh,' which Meta acquired in 2017, and 'Gas,' which was acquired by Discord in 2023. Both tbh and Gas are considered case studies in viral marketing, with both gaining millions of users in short spans of time, before being acquired by larger companies. Bier has also advised on several other app projects, and his expertise in user dynamics could be of significant benefit for X, as it looks to regain growth momentum. As per Bier's announcement: 'X is the most important social network in the world. It's where internet culture originates and where the world's most influential people convene. Finding my community and building an audience on X has impacted my life more than any single thing: it's unlocked friendships, professional opportunities and it's even where I met my girlfriend. While I already spend every waking hour on this app, I'll now be spending that time helping others unlock that same value.' Bier says that he plans on 'leveraging the power of Grok to create hyper-relevant timelines,' in order to help X users better understand everything that's happening. It could be a big hire, and again, with X losing users, and relevance, since the name change from Twitter, while also now facing a significant market challenge from Meta's rival Threads, X needs an injection of innovation to spark more interest in the app. So how will Bier be able to help X transform itself, and become a more culturally relevant platform once again? Well, more AI-aligned timelines could be one aspect, and ensuring that users are getting the most relevant posts displayed to them every time they log in. That's been key to TikTok's success, with its almighty algorithm able to align itself to your interests within a few swipes. Maybe, X could look to do the same, to ensure that the 'For You' main feed is a more engaging mix of valuable content for each user. Or maybe, Bier will look to integrate elements of his past apps, with both tbh and Gas using anonymous compliments to spark engagement between users. That seems less likely to resonate on X, but maybe there are aspects to this that will apply, though Bier will really be bringing his broader product understanding to the app, in alignment with Elon Musk's vision. Which is probably the bigger element to consider. Elon has a very specific set of ideas in mind as to how he wants the app to be, and it'll be interesting to see if and how Bier can align with this, while also implementing his own input. And with X continuing to push into payments, and facilitating more use cases in the app, there could be some conflicts with that dynamic, and what exactly Bier can do within the framework of what Musk wants X to be. But it does seem like a potentially valuable partnership, which could end up delivering for X.
