I have no idea -- this is just a thought. Perhaps it's because Tumblr as a platform controls its entire user base while WordPress has an OSS variant that allows anyone to work with their code beyond Automattic's control.
When you value Tumblr, it's everything. When you value Automattic/WordPress you're valuing their hosting and paid packages but perhaps aren't putting a figure to their OSS offerings?
I just spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out what Automattic is and does. I gather they are in some way connected to wordpress, but beyond that I am baffled.
I had a similar reaction the first time I read about them. They've acquired a few apps / businesses as well. I think they do pretty much anything software / Internet related. They 'build products for the web' as it were.
I know that Wordpress as a platform touches a ton of people, but I'm curious to see what sort of revenue Automattic must be doing on the paid side to justify a $1B+ valuation.
I guess it's possible this has little to do with the company's earning potential, and everything to do with reach and influence.
I would argue that compared to it's competitors, WP has a more solid business model and actual revenue. See Tumblr for an example of a highly valued service, with great reach and "influence" but no revenue.
I find it amusing that one comment questions how the valuation is so high, while another questions how it is so low (compared to a competitor).
While there is a separation between Automattic and the WordPress Foundation, the fact that WordPress powers something like 1/5th of all websites can't be overlooked.healthy. The WordPress VIP service has been picking up a lot of very large enterprises as customers. I imagine their revenue is very
It was also only a year ago I said “Automattic is healthy, generating cash, and already growing as fast as it can so there’s no need for the company to raise money directly — we’re not capital constrained.”
I was wrong, but I didn’t realize it until I took on the CEO role in January.
Find this to be really odd.
And it leads into this, which is at odds with the previous statement that they were growing as fast as they can. Did they discover any new avenues for growth that required a whole new raft of capital?
..and we realized we could invest more into WordPress and our products to grow faster
I love the company and Matt. Met him briefly in India many moons ago when he was attending a Wordcamp here.
It'd be nice if they poured even a few million of this new cash haul into their IntenseDebate blogging-comments service. That, or shut it down since support there is non-responsive.
