“The Future of Texts.com: A New Era Under Automattic’s Ownership and Apple’s Rivalry with Beeper”
In a surprising move, Automattic, the owner of WordPress.com, acquired all-in-one messaging app Texts.com for a whopping $50 million this fall. This acquisition marked Automattic’s official foray into the world of private messaging, signaling its expansion beyond its usual realm of startup investments.
As the battle against Apple’s tight grip on its iMessage ecosystem continues, Texts.com enters the scene with an app that consolidates iPhone chats with other messaging services such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, and more to come. This move poses a direct challenge to Apple’s dominance and highlights the app’s support for end-to-end encryption, a feature that aligns with consumers’ growing demand for messaging openness.
In a joint interview after the acquisition, Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg and Texts.com founder Kishan Bagaria discussed the company’s strategic shift, the evolving social web landscape, and the potential impact of new EU regulations and U.S. antitrust oversight on the messaging market.
Mullenweg emphasized the significance of Texts.com’s alignment with the resurgence of the open web and the shift towards more open standards, reflecting a broader trend in the tech industry. He also highlighted the app’s potential response to the forthcoming EU regulations, which will require messaging interoperability, and the increasing scrutiny of Big Tech’s unchecked power in the U.S.
Bagaria, the founder of Texts.com, shared his initial vision of the app as a solution to the overwhelming challenge of managing multiple messaging platforms. Despite receiving offers from other companies, the acquisition by Automattic seemed like the natural next step for Texts.com, with Bagaria praising Mullenweg’s persuasive influence.
Looking ahead, Texts.com is exploring the possibility of adopting a freemium model for its app, while Mullenweg believes that the acquisition could have a transformative impact on Automattic’s future, with messaging representing an area ripe for innovation and disruption.
As the app prepares for its public release, the stage is set for Texts.com to carve out its place in the messaging landscape and offer a compelling alternative in a market dominated by tech giants. The future of Texts.com, under Automattic’s ownership, promises to shape the evolution of messaging platforms and influence the broader conversation around online communication.
