Matt Mullenweg on private equity
From Why Matt Mullenweg Is Fighting for the Future of Open Source | Lenny's Podcast - EP.100 · · Think Deeper Now
“In 2019, they got bought out by a private equity firm called Silverlake. And you know, anyone who follows business, you know, when private equity buys something, there's some good ones, but there's also many, many stories about how they can really kind of hollow things out, you know, really optimize for profits, become user hostile.”
On , Matt Mullenweg, CEO & Founder at Automatic, spoke about private equity during Why Matt Mullenweg Is Fighting for the Future of Open Source | Lenny's Podcast - EP.100 on Think Deeper Now.
About Matt Mullenweg
Matt Mullenweg, CEO of Automattic, appeared on the relaunch episode of the podcast "Do the Woo" on May 17, 2026, to discuss the future of WooCommerce. He described WooCommerce as a "killer app" on top of the WordPress platform, which he likened to an operating system similar to Windows. Mullenweg stated that in 2026, the first question when choosing software is whether it increases or decreases freedom, framing this as a choice between open source and proprietary options. He also said that Shopify is "kind of scared of WooCommerce," attributing this to WooCommerce's growth, and identified education as a major opportunity for WordPress and WooCommerce, expressing enthusiasm for the WordPress education credits program. Mullenweg remarked that the biggest threat to products like WooCommerce is internal execution, not competitors. On March 27, 2026, Mullenweg participated in a fireside chat with Stephen Wolfram at Automattic's dev/ai/nyc event. During the conversation, he discussed the role of AI in computation and creativity, and noted that Automattic is hiring for roles that combine intellectual and business-oriented skills. He encouraged attendees to network with others at the event, emphasizing the value of making new connections.