Block, the fintech firm led by Jack Dorsey, launched Buzz on Tuesday this week, a free, open-source workspace collaboration tool designed for users and AI agents. Dorsey stated the platform was built to reduce Block's dependency on Slack and GitHub. The launch enters a market dominated by Microsoft's Teams and Salesforce's Slack, with Block shares declining 3% this week while Microsoft and Salesforce stocks fell 1% and 4.6% respectively. Software stocks have faced pressure since the start of this year over concerns about AI impact on niche software demand.
Block Launches Buzz With Nostr Protocol Integration
Block released Buzz on Tuesday as a collaboration platform combining chat, code, AI agents and workflows into a single workspace. In a blog post on X, Dorsey described Buzz as "an open source workspace that puts people, agents, conversations, and code on the same level, behind one cryptographic identity system." Block is already using Buzz internally and plans to make it the foundation of the company's future AI-powered development workflow.
Buzz is built on Nostr, the decentralized messaging protocol backed by Dorsey. The platform includes channels, threads, direct messages, voice, media sharing, and code repositories. According to Bradley Axen, Block's head of AI capabilities quoted by tech news site The New Stack, Buzz treats agents as full participants in conversations and can work with any model and popular agent harness, allowing teams to plug in Claude Code, Codex, goose, or bring their own.
Block Stocks Up 19% Year to Date
Block shares have largely traded within a range for the past three years, though they have climbed notably since March this year. The stock is up 19% year to date, while Microsoft's and Salesforce's shares are down 19% and 38% respectively. Block announced workforce reductions in February and raised its full-year gross profit outlook after reporting stronger-than-expected first-quarter results in May. The stock last closed at $77.46.
Block operates the Square merchant payments platform, the Cash App consumer finance service, and offers services including buy-now-pay-later, music streaming, and Bitcoin products.
BMO Capital and Cantor Fitzgerald Raise Price Targets
Earlier this week, BMO Capital raised its price target on Block to $85 from $78 and Cantor Fitzgerald increased it to $95 from $88. BMO Capital stated in a research note that Block is the best-performing name in the firm's coverage year-to-date, as investor confidence has improved following the Q1 beat-and-raise and workforce restructuring.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Block shifted to 'neutral' from 'bullish' on Thursday. One trader stated, "Looks bullish oddly enough."
FAQ
What did Block launch on Tuesday this week?
Block launched Buzz on Tuesday this week, a free, open-source workspace collaboration tool designed for users and AI agents. The platform combines chat, code, AI agents and workflows into a single workspace and is built on the Nostr decentralized messaging protocol.
How did Block stocks perform year to date?
Block shares are up 19% year to date and last closed at $77.46. The stock declined 3% this week. BMO Capital raised its price target to $85 from $78 and Cantor Fitzgerald increased it to $95 from $88 earlier this week.
