The creator of WordPress opens up about becoming an internet villain, why he’s taking a stand, and the future of open source | Matt Mullenweg (founder and CEO, Automattic)

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Matt Mullenweg is the co-founder of WordPress, the open source platform powering a staggering 43% of the internet. He also serves as CEO of Automattic—the parent company of brands like WordPress.com, WooCommerce, and Tumblr—which is worth over $7 billion, with over 1,700 employees across 90 countries. In this episode, he discusses some of the most controversial topics surrounding WordPress, Automattic, and the broader open source community.

What you’ll learn:

1. Matt’s response to public criticism

2. Why products like Meta’s Llama are “fake open source”

3. How his team is turning around Tumblr after acquiring it for just $3 million (after Yahoo bought it for $1.1 billion)

4. Why he mortgaged his home to fund San Francisco’s iconic Bay Lights project

5. Matt’s philosophy: “Don’t just build a product; build a movement”

6. Why open source matters: “If the Founding Fathers were around today, they’d be open source advocates”

Some takeaways:

1. Leadership in open source requires making difficult decisions:

   1. Sometimes unpopular choices are necessary for long-term success

   2. Maintain transparency and open communication

   3. Be willing to defend core principles even when facing criticism

   4. Focus on the silent majority rather than vocal critics

2. The future of open source in AI presents both opportunities and challenges:

   1. Open source code provides training data for AI models

   2. Need to balance openness with responsible development

   3. Opportunity to enhance existing tools with AI capabilities

   4. Importance of maintaining user privacy and control

3. WordPress powers over 40% of websites globally, 10 times its closest competitor (Shopify), with Automattic generating around $500 million in annual revenue across WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, and other properties.

4. Why Matt is currently migrating Tumblr’s half-billion sites to WordPress, in one of the largest data migrations ever, while exploring alternatives to ad-driven business models for social platforms.

5. Automattic’s acquisition strategy differs from private equity by being an “acquirer of first resort,” focused on acceleration rather than cost-cutting, with WooCommerce being their most successful acquisition to date.

6. AI is transforming open source development, with Matt predicting that within five years, the majority of code contributions could be AI-assisted, potentially revolutionizing security and maintenance.

Where to find Matt Mullenweg:

• X: https://x.com/photomatt

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mattm/

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/photomatt/

• Website: https://ma.tt/

In this episode, we cover:

(00:00) Introduction to Matt Mullenweg

(05:10) Matt’s career journey

(11:15) Bay Lights project and philanthropy

(17:28) How Matt got involved with open source

(23:25) Why products like Meta’s Llama are “fake open source”

(27:14) The future of open source and how to get involved

(35:25) Building a successful online community

(39:12) The WP Engine controversy

(50:24) Facing criticism and controversy

(55:29) Addressing community concerns

(01:08:29) Forking Advanced Custom Fields

(01:11:15) The role of social media and public perception

(01:16:43) Acquiring and reviving Tumblr

(01:24:25) Automattic’s acquisition strategy

(01:28:51) Final thoughts and future plans

Referenced:

• WordPress: https://wordpress.com/

• Automattic: https://automattic.com/

• CNET: https://www.cnet.com/

• Akismet: https://akismet.com/wordpress/

• Jetpack: https://jetpack.com/

• Toni Schneider on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tonischneider/

• WooCommerce: https://woocommerce.com/

• Beeper: https://www.beeper.com/

• Day One: https://dayoneapp.com/

• Simplenote: https://simplenote.com/

• Pocket Casts: https://pocketcasts.com/

• Creative Commons: https://creativecommons.org/

• Audrey Capital: https://audrey.co/

• Stripe: https://stripe.com/

• SpaceX: https://www.spacex.com/

• Calm: https://www.calm.com/

• August: https://august.com/

• Daylight Computer: https://daylightcomputer.com/

• Keys Jazz Bistro: https://keysjazzbistro.com/

• Joomla: https://www.joomla.org/

• Drupal: https://new.drupal.org/

• Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/

• Wix: https://www.wix.com/

• Squarespace: https://www.squarespace.com/

• Tumblr: https://www.tumblr.com/

• Gravatar: https://gravatar.com/

• The Bay Lights: https://illuminate.org/projects/thebaylights/

• The Bay Lights 360: https://illuminate.org/the-bay-lights-360/

• Ben Davis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-davis-sf/

• Kinder High School for the Performing and Visual Arts: https://www.houstonisd.org/hspva

• Jack Dorsey: We’re Losing our Free Will to Algorithms: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_8NganZSFI

• Marc Andreessen: https://a16z.com/author/marc-andreessen/

• Bill Gurley on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/billgurley/

• An inside look at X’s Community Notes | Keith Coleman (VP of Product) and Jay Baxter (ML Lead): https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/how-x-built-the-best-fact-checking-system-on-the-internet

• Llama: https://www.llama.com/

• WordCamp US & Ecosystem Thinking: https://ma.tt/2024/09/ecosystem-thinking/

• As Wall Street Chases Profits, Fire Departments Have Paid the Price: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/17/us/fire-engines-shortage-private-equity.html

• WordCamp Asia: https://asia.wordcamp.org/2025/

• Justin Baldoni Hit with Defamation Suit as PR Teams Turn on Each Other over Blake Lively’s ‘It Ends with Us’ Smear Campaign Allegations: https://deadline.com/2024/12/justin-baldoni-defamation-lawsuit-publicist-blake-lively-1236241784/

• How WordPress Hot Nacho Scandal Shapes WP Engine Dispute: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/how-wordpress-hot-nacho-scandal-shapes-wp-engine-dispute/539069/

• Gutenberg: https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/

• ClassicPress: https://www.classicpress.net/

• Behind the founder: Marc Benioff: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/behind-the-founder-marc-benioff

• Mary Hubbard on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryfhubbard/

• Brian Chesky’s new playbook: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/brian-cheskys-contrarian-approach

• Founder mode: https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html

• Cow.com: https://www.cow.com/

• David Karp on X: https://x.com/davidkarp

• Marissa Mayer on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marissamayer/

• Alibaba: https://www.alibaba.com/

• WP Engine Tracker: https://wordpressenginetracker.com/

• Kumbh Mela: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kumbh_Mela

Recommended book:

• Maintenance: Of Everything (in progress): https://books.worksinprogress.co/book/maintenance-of-everything/addenda/page/introduction

Production and marketing by https://penname.co/. For inquiries about sponsoring the podcast, email podcast@lennyrachitsky.com.

Lenny may be an investor in the companies discussed.