TLDRs
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- Jack Dorsey has committed $10 million to build open-source apps challenging Big Tech’s control of social media.
- His collective, and Other Stuff, is creating tools like AI social builders and encrypted messengers outside corporate structures.
- Dorsey also launched Bitchat, a peer-to-peer messaging app using Bluetooth, with no servers or user data collection.
- A “social media Bill of Rights” is in development, pushing standards for privacy, security, and decentralized governance.
Jack Dorsey, the co-founder of Twitter and CEO of Block, has made a decisive move against centralized social media by investing $10 million into experimental, open-source platforms designed to challenge Big Tech’s dominance.
The investment comes through a new collective called “and Other Stuff,” launched in May 2025. Rather than building a traditional company, the team is channeling the funds into a suite of decentralized applications that reflect a sharp break from the corporate-driven models that dominate today’s digital public square.
The initiative is backed by a group of technologists formerly involved with platforms like Twitter, Truth Social, Cashu, and Intercom. Many of them share a background in developing Nostr, a decentralized protocol that emphasizes user control and censorship resistance.
Their current work includes building tools like Shakespeare, an AI-based social app builder; heynow, a voice-first communication platform; White Noise, a privacy-focused messenger; and +chorus, an app focused on building communities free from algorithmic manipulation.
Dorsey’s Vision for a Post-Corporate Internet
This is not the first time Dorsey has distanced himself from the very systems he helped build. After years at the helm of Twitter, he later remarked that the platform “should have never been a company.”
His disillusionment with venture-backed and advertiser-dependent models has fueled a shift in his thinking toward protocols rather than platforms. That shift is at the heart of and Other Stuff, which is focused on open standards, transparency, and user sovereignty.
As part of the initiative, the group is also drafting what they describe as a “social media Bill of Rights,” outlining core principles like privacy, security, and interoperability. The goal is to create a framework that ensures user protection regardless of the platform, and to empower developers building tools outside of corporate constraints.
From Twitter to Bluetooth
Dorsey’s latest experiments go beyond funding. Earlier this month, he unveiled Bitchat, a peer-to-peer messaging app that works over Bluetooth mesh networks without internet or centralized servers. The app enables fully encrypted, ephemeral chats stored only on-device, effectively bypassing traditional telecom infrastructure. Inspired by tools used during the Hong Kong protests, Bitchat represents a bold attempt to create communications tools resilient to surveillance, shutdowns, and corporate gatekeeping.
In a post announcing the beta release, Dorsey called Bitchat a personal test of mesh networks, encryption protocols, and censorship-resistant messaging models. The app’s features signal a broader ambition: to build an internet that users can own and operate on their own terms.
A Market Ready for Change
Dorsey’s push aligns with growing public discontent toward mainstream platforms. Concerns over privacy, content moderation, and opaque algorithms have created fertile ground for decentralized alternatives.
Though platforms based on open protocols currently occupy a small share of the market, they are projected to expand significantly in the coming decade. Analysts expect the decentralized social media market to hit $101.2 billion by 2033, growing at an annual rate of over 23 percent.
That market trend echoes Dorsey’s long-standing critique: that platforms dependent on ad revenue will always serve their funders first. In contrast, the new model seeks to empower users directly, not through investor incentives but through transparency and control.
