Automattic acquires integrated messaging app Texts.com for $50 million

Automattic, the company behind WordPress and Tumblr, has purchased the integrated messaging app Texts.com for $50 million. The app combines various messaging platforms such as iMessage, Slack, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Messenger, LinkedIn, Signal, Discord, and more into a single interface, pretty similar to other alternatives like Franz, Ferdi, and the recently popular Beeper. It also ensures end-to-end encryption for messages and offers features like message scheduling, marking messages as unread, and summarizing extensive group chats.

Automattic's current portfolio comprises WordPress for publishing, WooCommerce for e-commerce, Tumblr for blogging, and a suite of advertising tools. We also recently learned that WordPress.com officially supports ActivityPub, extending the reach of blogs to federated platforms. This acquisition will place Kishan Bagaria, the founder of Texts.com, as the new head of messaging within Automattic, along with his entire team.

The existence of services like Texts makes more sense with the recent strict laws and regulations on large tech companies, such as the EU's Digital Markets Act, whic has forced major messaging platforms like WhatsApp to actively work on implementing interoperability across different apps, enabling users to communicate with each other regardless of their favorite messaging app. The company believes that placing a messaging app under a non-Big Tech company will result in faster development and improved focus, potentially fostering effective competition in the messaging market.