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)

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: • Matt’s response to public criticism • Why products like Meta’s Llama are “fake open source” • How his team is turning around Tumblr after acquiring it for just $3 million (after Yahoo bought it for $1.1 billion) • Why he mortgaged his home to fund San Francisco’s iconic Bay Lights project • Matt’s philosophy: “Don’t just build a product; build a movement” • Why open source matters: “If the Founding Fathers were around today, they’d be open source advocates” — Brought to you by: • WorkOS—Modern identity platform for B2B SaaS, free up to 1 million MAUs • Vanta—Automate compliance. Simplify security. • Loom—The easiest screen recorder you’ll ever use — Find the transcript at: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com/p/the-creator-of-wordpress-opens-up-matt-mullenweg — 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/ — Where to find Lenny: • Newsletter: https://www.lennysnewsletter.com • X: https://twitter.com/lennysan • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lennyrachitsky/ — 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. Get full access to Lenny's Newsletter at www.lennysnewsletter.com/subscribe