Today, I’m talking with Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic, the parent company of WordPress.com, Tumblr, and a whole host of other products like the new cross-platform messaging service Beeper. Last year, Matt essentially went to war, publicly and in the courts, against a hosting company called WP Engine, and there’s been significant fallout at Automattic and the broader WordPress community.  
It’s been a long, drawn-out saga. That said, Matt was willing to come on the show and talk through some of this thinking here, why he made some of the decisions he did, and also what he regrets about how some of this went down. 
Links: 
<ul>
 <li>The messy WordPress drama, explained | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/27/24256361/wordpress-wp-engine-drama-explained-matt-mullenweg">Verge</a> </li>
 <li>Celebrating 20 Years of Automattic | <a href="https://automattic.com/2025/06/20/automattic-20-years/">Automattic</a>
</li>
 <li>Matt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me’ | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/4/24262232/matt-mullenweg-wordpress-org-wp-engine">Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>Automattic offered employees another chance to quit over | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/10/17/24272867/automattic-employee-buyout-wordpress-drama">Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>WordPress owner Automattic is laying off 16 percent of workers | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/news/642187/automattic-wordpress-layoffs-matt-mullenweg">Verge</a> </li>
 <li>Tumblr will move all of its blogs to WordPress | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/28/24230587/tumblr-move-blogs-wordpress-automattic">Verge</a>
</li>
 <li>Beeper was just acquired by Automattic | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/9/24124179/beeper-app-automattic-acquisition-matrix-messaging">Verge</a> </li>
 <li>Automattic acquires relationship manager Clay | <a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/12/automattic-acquires-relationship-manager-clay-to-add-an-identity-layer-to-online-tools/">TechCrunch</a>
</li>
 <li>How WordPress and Tumblr are keeping the internet weird | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/3/15/22977857/wordpress-tumblr-simplenote-internet-automattic-matt-mullenweg-interview">Decoder</a>
</li>
 <li>How to buy a social network, with Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg | <a href="https://www.theverge.com/23506085/wordpress-twitter-tumblr-ceo-matt-mullenweg-elon-musk">Decoder</a>
</li>

</ul>
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright. 
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit <a href="https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices">podcastchoices.com/adchoices</a>

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