Automattic

Not to be confused with Automatic.
Automattic Inc.
Company typePrivate
Industry
  • Internet
  • Web Development
  • Software
Founded2005; 20 years ago (2005), in the United States
FounderMatt Mullenweg
HeadquartersSan Francisco, California, US
Key people
Matt Mullenweg (CEO, president)
Products
Number of employees
1,486 (2025[1])
ASN2635 Edit this at Wikidata
Websiteautomattic.com

Automattic Inc. is an American global distributed company most notable for WordPress.com and its contributions to the WordPress system. The company was founded in 2005.[2]

Automattic's brands and products include WordPress.com, Akismet, Gravatar, BuddyPress,[3] Simplenote, WooCommerce,[4] Atavist,[5] Tumblr,[6] Parse.ly,[7] Day One,[8] Pocket Casts,[9] and Beeper.[10]

History

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Matt Mullenweg co-founded the open-source blogging platform WordPress in 2003. Two years later, he founded Automattic to monetize the platform.[11]

Initially the company developed commercial products related to WordPress, including WordPress.com for WordPress-managed hosting and the spam filtering service Akismet.[12] Toni Schneider, a former executive at Yahoo, became chief executive officer (CEO) in 2006.[12][13]

In April 2006, Automattic's Regulation D filing showed it had raised approximately $1.1 million in funding.[14]

On September 9, 2010, Automattic gave the WordPress trademark and control over bbPress and BuddyPress to the WordPress Foundation.[15]

Automattic's remote working culture was the topic of a participative journalism project by Scott Berkun, resulting in the 2013 book The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work.[16]

On November 21, 2016, Automattic managed the launch and development of the .blog gTLD.[17]

The former office of Automattic at 140 Hawthorne Street in San Francisco in July 2017 (since closed)

In 2017, Automattic announced that it would close its San Francisco office, which had served as an optional co-working space for its employees, alongside similar spaces near Portland, Maine and in Cape Town, South Africa.[18]

In August 2019, Automattic closed a deal with Verizon Media to acquire Tumblr.[19] In September of the same year, Automattic announced a Series D funding round of $300 million from Salesforce, increasing its valuation to US$3 billion.[20]

Ending in February 2021, Automattic brought in US$288 million from a primary funding round. Subsequently, the company participated in a stock buyback, with the company valued at US$7.5 billion.[21]

In February 2024, it was reported that the company would begin selling user data from Tumblr and WordPress.com to Midjourney and OpenAI.[22]

On April 2, 2025, the company announced a restructuring that resulted in the layoff of 16% of its workforce, or 281 positions.[23]

WP Engine dispute and lawsuit

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Main article: WP Engine § WordPress dispute and lawsuit

Towards the end of September 2024, Automattic was involved in a controversy with WP Engine, in which Automattic claimed WP Engine used the WordPress trademark in a way that confused consumers. One of the main claims made is that WP Engine does not pay trademark royalties to the WordPress Foundation.[24] Over 8 percent of Automattic's staff resigned after CEO Matt Mullenweg offered $30,000 or six months' salary as severance to those who disagreed with his stance.[25] The next month, Mullenweg made another offer, this time of nine months' salary.[26]

Corporate affairs

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As of December 2024, Automattic's board consisted of the following directors:[27]

References

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  1. ^ "About Us". Automattic. July 23, 2005. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  2. ^ Morrison, Chris (October 19, 2021). "How doing everything wrong turned Automattic into a multibillion dollar media powerhouse". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on September 30, 2024. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
  3. ^ Mullenweg, Matt (September 9, 2010). "A New Home for the WordPress Trademark". ma.tt. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  4. ^ Forrester, Mark (May 19, 2015). "WooThemes Joins Automattic". The WooCommerce Blog. Archived from the original on November 29, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  5. ^ "Automattic, Parent Company of WordPress.com, Acquires Atavist Publishing Platform and Award-Winning Magazine". PR Newswire. June 21, 2018. Archived from the original on October 1, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2018.
  6. ^ Gooding, Sarah (August 13, 2019). "Automattic Acquires Tumblr, Plans to Rebuild the Backend Powered by WordPress". wptavern.com. Archived from the original on December 4, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  7. ^ Mullenweg, Matt (February 8, 2021). "Parse.ly & Automattic". ma.tt. Archived from the original on October 13, 2024. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  8. ^ Perez, Sarah (June 14, 2021). "WordPress.com owner Automattic acquires journaling app Day One". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on December 10, 2024. Retrieved June 14, 2021.
  9. ^ Budelli, Eli (July 16, 2021). "Popular Podcast App Pocket Casts Joins Automattic". WordPress.com. Archived from the original on December 3, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  10. ^ Pierce, David (April 9, 2024). "Beeper was just acquired by Automattic, which has big plans for the future of messaging". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 25, 2024. Retrieved April 9, 2024.
  11. ^ Sawers, Paul (September 22, 2024). "Matt Mullenweg calls WP Engine a 'cancer to WordPress' and urges community to switch providers". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  12. ^ a b Morrison, Chris (October 19, 2021). "How doing everything wrong turned Automattic into a multibillion dollar media powerhouse". TechCrunch. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  13. ^ Farr, Christina (January 13, 2014). "WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg to take over Automattic as CEO". VentureBeat. Retrieved November 1, 2024.
  14. ^ "EDGAR Search Results". www.sec.gov. Archived from the original on June 12, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  15. ^ Mullenweg, Matt (September 9, 2010). "A New Home for the WordPress Trademark". ma.tt. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  16. ^ Scott Berkun (September 10, 2013). The Year Without Pants: WordPress.com and the Future of Work. Wiley. ISBN 978-1-118-66063-8.
  17. ^ "About Knock Knock, WHOIS There". .blog. April 13, 2016. Archived from the original on September 30, 2024. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  18. ^ Staley, Oliver (June 12, 2017). "Wordpress's owner is closing its San Francisco office because its employees never show up". Quartz. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved October 20, 2019.
  19. ^ Radulovic, Petrana (August 12, 2019). "Tumblr sold off yet again, adult content bans to be relaxed, but are being discussed". Polygon. Archived from the original on September 30, 2024. Retrieved August 12, 2019.
  20. ^ Dillet, Romain (September 19, 2019). "Automattic raises $300 million at $3 billion valuation from Salesforce Ventures". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on November 13, 2024. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
  21. ^ Mullenweg, Matt (August 16, 2021). "Funding, Buyback, and Hiring". ma.tt. Archived from the original on December 9, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
  22. ^ Cole, Samantha (February 27, 2024). "Tumblr and WordPress to Sell Users' Data to Train AI Tools". 404 Media. Archived from the original on December 1, 2024. Retrieved February 28, 2024.
  23. ^ https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/02/wordpress-maker-automattic-lays-off-16-of-staff/
  24. ^ Mehta, Ivan (September 26, 2024). "The WordPress vs. WP Engine drama, explained". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on December 11, 2024. Retrieved September 27, 2024.
  25. ^ Roth, Emma (October 4, 2024). "WordPress co-founder is paying employees to leave if they disagree with him". The Verge. Archived from the original on November 27, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  26. ^ Cole, Samantha (October 17, 2024). "Employees Describe an Environment of Paranoia and Fear Inside Automattic Over WordPress Chaos". 404 Media. Archived from the original on December 12, 2024. Retrieved October 18, 2024.
  27. ^ "Board of Directors". Automattic. September 25, 2018. Archived from the original on December 6, 2024. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
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Media related to Automattic at Wikimedia Commons

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