Matt Mullenweg on AI models
From Why Matt Mullenweg Is Fighting for the Future of Open Source | Lenny's Podcast - EP.100 · · Think Deeper Now
“Llama you can obviously download and run locally and all these sorts of things, right? However, there's a clause in it that says if you're above a certain threshold of monthly active users, I forget what it is, like it's big. It's like 750 million, so it's pretty high. You need a license from them. And so that does not give you the freedom to use this software for any purpose, right? If at some point you have to ask for permission, you know, you're kind of at the whims of this company.”
On , Matt Mullenweg, CEO & Founder at Automatic, spoke about AI models 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.