WordPress co-founder discusses challenges with Tumblr, AI integration, and future projects at WordCamp Canada 2025.
Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg described the company’s Tumblr acquisition as his “biggest failure” during a recent Town Hall session at WordCamp Canada 2025, but emphasized that the team hasn’t given up on making the platform successful.
Mullenweg explained that Tumblr remains on a different technical stack than WordPress, and migrating the over 500 million blogs to WordPress infrastructure would simplify maintenance and reduce costs. However, the massive effort was paused earlier this year due to the platform’s lack of profitability, forcing Automattic to prioritize other projects.
“It’s over 500 million blogs, actually, and, as a business, it’s costing so much more to run than it generates in revenue,” Mullenweg said. “It’s probably my biggest failure or missed opportunity right now, but we’re still working on it.”
Other Projects and AI Integration
At the event, Mullenweg also highlighted other Automattic initiatives, including WordPress, Jetpack, and WooCommerce. He discussed Playground, which lets users run WordPress entirely in a browser, and Beeper, a universal messaging app that will soon support additional platforms like KakaoTalk and services from dating apps.
On the topic of AI, Mullenweg acknowledged its unstoppable growth, calling companies like OpenAI “too big to fail.” For WordPress themes, he is considering tagging AI-generated images so users can filter content instead of outright banning it, aiming to balance innovation with transparency.
Community, Transparency, and Accountability
Mullenweg addressed the legal dispute with WP Engine, a WordPress hosting company accused of profiting from the open-source ecosystem without contributing back. He emphasized that issues arise from “bad actions” rather than bad actors, and suggested incentives for positive contributions, such as higher rankings or showcases in the WordPress directory.
He also highlighted WordPressEngineTracker.com, which tracks sites leaving hosts, noting that over 100,000 sites have switched while 74,000 went offline since September of last year. The site had been temporarily taken down by court order, which Mullenweg described as an attempt to “muzzle free speech and transparency.”
The Bottom Line
While Tumblr remains a challenge, Mullenweg’s remarks show Automattic’s continued commitment to innovation, AI integration, and community-driven governance. From blog migration to new creative tools and messaging platforms, the company is focusing on scalable growth while maintaining its open-source values.
