Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg says the Tumblr acquisition may be the biggest mistake ever
WordCamp Canada 2025 - Ma.tt Mullenweg 'Town Hall/AMA' - YouTube
Automattic CEO calls Tumblr his 'biggest failure' so far | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/10/20/automattic-ceo-calls-tumblr-his-biggest-failure-so-far/
Automattic CEO calls Tumblr his 'biggest failure' amid losses | The Tech Buzz
https://www.techbuzz.ai/articles/automattic-ceo-calls-tumblr-his-biggest-failure-amid-losses
WordPress is a content management system that makes it easy to create blogs and homepages, and as of October 2025, 43.4% of all websites use WordPress. In 2019, the company that runs WordPress acquired Tumblr, which had been experiencing an accelerating decline in users due to a complete ban on adult content. At the time, Mullenweg said, 'Tumblr is one of the most iconic brands on the web. It's an essential place to share new ideas, culture, and experiences, helping millions of people create and build communities around shared interests.'
Blogging service Tumblr acquired by WordPress' parent company - GIGAZINE
Automattic has invested over $100 million to turn Tumblr around, but the company has struggled to keep up with the changes. In 2023, the company announced a significant downsizing of its operations team, with the majority of the 139 members of Tumblr's operations team being transferred to other departments.
Although over 15 billion yen was spent to revive Tumblr, it did not reach its peak and the management team was significantly downsized - GIGAZINE
Mullenweg spoke about Tumblr at WordCamp Canada 2025 , held from October 15th to 17th, 2025. Mullenweg explained that at the time of writing, Tumblr exists on a different technology stack than WordPress, and it needs to be integrated into WordPress' infrastructure, which is a difficult task.
Although there are over 500 million microblogs on Tumblr, Automattic says that the operating costs are far higher than the revenue it brings in, forcing it to prioritize other projects in order to remain sustainable.
Mullenweg said, 'This may be my biggest mistake or missed opportunity at the moment, but we're still working on Tumblr.' On this issue, technology media TechCrunch argues that if Tumblr's backend could be migrated to WordPress, maintenance would be simpler and more cost-effective.
During the Q&A session, Mullenweg was asked about the impact of using AI-generated images as content. He responded, 'This is a very evolving field, and laws vary from country to country.' He continued, 'We're not putting the AI genie back in the bottle. AI development companies like OpenAI are too big, and their systems and infrastructure, like large data centers, are tied to the overall economy and growth, so they can't fail.'
He also mentioned the ongoing dispute over WordPress between Automattic and web hosting provider WP Engine , which Mullenweg criticized as a 'cancer for WordPress' for not investing enough in supporting WordPress despite providing services specifically for WordPress.
When asked about how to protect the community from 'bad actors,' Mullenweg first responded, 'I don't want to say there are bad actors. There are bad actors at the time, and they may be acting badly for a short period of time. I hope that in the future they will become good actors.'
He argues that better behavior can be encouraged by creating an incentive system, such as increasing the rankings of specific users, and by having community members support companies that are doing the right thing. Since September 2024, when Mullenweg raised concerns about WP Engine, approximately 100,000 websites have been migrated from WP Engine to other hosting services. Mullenweg argued that such actions would create a 'commercial incentive to do the right thing' for companies that engage in unscrupulous behavior.
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