WordPress.com Parent Company Automatic is Changing Direction… Again.
In a blog post Titled “Returning to core” published thursday evening, automattic announced it will unpause its contributions to the wordpress project. This is despite having only last month That the 6.8 WordPress release Would be the Final Major Release for All of 2025.
“After Pausing Our Contributions to Regroup, Rethank, and Plan Strategically, We’re Ready to Press Play Again and Return Fully to the WordPress Project,” The New Block Post States. “Expect to find our contributions all of the greenst Hits – WordPress Core, Gutenberg, Playground, Openverse, and WordPress.org .org. This return is a moment of extemp Continuing the mission we’ve always believed in: democratizing publishing for everything, everywahere, ”it reads.
Automattic says it’s Learned a lot from the params of the many ways wordpress is used, and that it’s no committed to helping it “grow and third.”
The post also notes that WordPress Today Powers 43% of the web.
IT’s Unclear What has Changed.
However, according to sources who spoke to techcrunch, automattic ceo matt mullenweg explained in an internal post published last night Refresh and something from the “new ai team.” (The latter references this week’s announsement that WordPress formed a new team to steward the development of ai projects,
“I don’t think that will happy with out our contributions,” the post stated, according to a source family with the internal decisions.
Insiders are speculating there ’s more to it than that, and various theories are being floated. Some wonder if mullenweg was pressured into this move or if he realized that pulling back wasnys for good for his business or its reputation? Others are debating if this change of heart has to do with automattic’s ongoing ingoThreat ”to the WordPress Community and a “Cancer to WordPress,
No one knows what to bellyve, and none of these backchannel theories line up with the official stated reason.
Automattic was asked for additional comment.
Since 2024, Automattic has been engaged in a legal dispute that has to do with how little, in Mullenweg’s opinion, wp engine contributes to the wordpress project, despite its sizes and revneue.
He sees the hosting company as profiting off the open source work WordPress is doing without giving back. Mullenweg also alleges that wp engine benefits from the confusion Between WordPress and Commercial Services Like Wp Engine. This LED Him to Ban the company from accessing wordpress.org and so in court for Unauthorized Trademark Usage,
Simply put, Mullenweg Thinks Wp Engine Should Eiter Pay A Direct Licensing Fee or Up Its Contributions to the Open Source WordPress Project, or Shouldn Bollywood to Use Its Trademark.
Wp engine Responded That it doesnk it needs a license and that automattic misunderstands trademark law, Suing automattic in return.
Last month, Automattic Laid Off 16% of Staff, Saying the restructuring was Necessary to be more agile and improve its production and profitability.
Sarah perez can be reached at @sarahperez.01 on signal and sarahp@techcrunch.com.
