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- X has appointed Nikita Bier, a successful serial entrepreneur, as its new head of product.
- Bier previously built and sold two viral social apps, TBH and Gas, known for fast growth with minimal marketing.
- His role comes as X integrates more deeply with xAI, Musk’s AI venture, and pursues “everything app” ambitions.
- Bier’s public engagement with Musk and X helped pave the way for this high-profile leadership opportunity.
Nikita Bier, a seasoned tech entrepreneur known for building viral social apps, has been appointed as the new head of product at X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Elon Musk confirmed the move on June 30, 2025, signaling a strategic step in X’s evolution as it merges social media, artificial intelligence, and fintech into a unified ecosystem.
Bier brings with him a track record of startup success, having previously founded TBH, a polling app acquired by Facebook in 2017, and Gas, a teen-focused social app purchased by Discord in 2023. His ability to engineer rapid user growth with minimal marketing has drawn admiration across Silicon Valley, and now X appears poised to tap into that same formula to refine its product direction.
A Strategic Hire for a Platform in Flux
X has undergone radical transformation since Musk acquired the company in 2022, shifting its focus toward becoming a one-stop platform integrating communication, AI, and financial services. Bier’s arrival comes amid the platform’s deepening ties with Musk’s artificial intelligence company, xAI. Together, the two entities have developed Grok, a conversational AI tool that is distributed natively on X.
Although the exact scope of Bier’s role has not been disclosed, observers expect him to play a pivotal part in shaping how users interact with AI on the platform. His public remarks suggest he’s particularly interested in leveraging Grok to deliver smarter, hyper-personalized timelines, a move that could help X set itself apart from competitors like Meta’s Threads and TikTok.
An Entrepreneur Who Understands Virality
What makes Bier’s appointment notable is his consistent success in understanding the psychology behind digital engagement. His approach often involves launching apps among younger, highly engaged audiences and creating exclusivity-driven growth, such as rolling out invites in high schools. These tactics have proven effective in building early traction and network effects, two elements X has struggled to maintain in recent years.
His unique ability to solve the so-called “cold start” problem, how to build momentum in a new product without a user base, will likely be critical as X experiments with new features and monetization strategies. As the platform seeks to reinvent itself, Bier’s experience in designing lightweight, emotionally resonant products could help reverse declining engagement metrics.
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.
Finding my community and… pic.twitter.com/MLU16rvXIP
— Nikita Bier (@nikitabier) June 30, 2025
AI, Crypto, and the Road to an “Everything App”
Beyond his product expertise, Bier’s background intersects with several of Musk’s broader ambitions. As a former advisor to Solana Labs, Bier brings a nuanced understanding of crypto ecosystems, which may be useful as X pushes into financial services. The company has secured money transmitter licenses in several U.S. states and is preparing to roll out its own digital payments service, X Money.
These combined skill sets place Bier at the center of Musk’s vision to build an “everything app”, a single platform that blends social networking, AI-driven discovery, and financial tools. If successful, X could redefine the boundaries of online platforms and reshape how users experience the internet.
A Career Won Through Visibility and Persistence
Bier’s new role is also a case study in how public persistence can lead to high-impact opportunities. He had expressed interest in leading product at X in a tweet to Musk back in 2022. That tweet, and his continued engagement with the platform, appear to have paid off. His appointment reflects a broader trend in tech where building public credibility through platforms like X can sometimes be as effective as traditional executive pathways.
By combining entrepreneurial experience, deep platform engagement, and fluency in AI and crypto, Bier’s role at X may turn out to be one of the most consequential product appointments in Musk’s growing tech empire.
