Who is Matt Mullenweg?

On top of being one of the original WordPress founders and developers, Matt Mullenweg is also the founder and CEO of Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, WooCommerce, Tumblr, Jetpack, Gravatar, and more.

Although Automattic operates WordPress.com, the company doesn’t own the open source software. The nonprofit WordPress Foundation holds the WordPress trademark, and the software itself is written and maintained by thousands of independent contributors.

Matt Mullenweg worked alongside Mike Little to develop the original version of WordPress, based on a fork of the b2 software, back in 2003. Since then, WordPress has become the most popular blogging platform and CMS in the world, used by 41.2% of all websites as of August 2026, according to W3Techs.

Who controls what in WordPress

“WordPress” names several separate things, and different parties control them. Splitting them apart answers most questions about Mullenweg’s role:

• The software: released under the GPL, version 2 or later. Contributors keep the copyright to the code they write; the license is what guarantees everyone the right to use, change, and redistribute it. Thousands of volunteers, including Automattic employees, build it in public.
• The trademarks: the WordPress Foundation, the nonprofit Mullenweg founded, has protected the WordPress and WordCamp marks since 2010.
• The WordPress.org website: distributes the software along with its plugins, themes, and updates. Mullenweg told The Verge in October 2024 that WordPress.org “just belongs to me personally.”
• Automattic: the private company behind the commercial WordPress.com service. Its press fact sheet lists Mullenweg as founder and CEO (August 2026).

For site owners, the split works out like this. Your right to run, modify, and redistribute WordPress comes from the GPL, and no company can take it away. Decisions about the commercial WordPress.com rest with Automattic, which Mullenweg runs. Decisions about the open source software are made in public by volunteer contributor teams that anyone can join; Mullenweg participates directly, sometimes leading releases himself.

Why Matt Mullenweg matters to WordPress users

Mullenweg remains the open source project’s most visible leader. Each year he delivers State of the Word, the keynote where the project’s direction is announced; the 2025 address took place in San Francisco on December 2, alongside the WordPress 6.9 release. His product decisions reach the software running your own site: the Gutenberg block editor he championed became the default editor in WordPress 5.0, a release he led in December 2018. To follow along, watch the next State of the Word, attend a WordCamp, or become a WordPress contributor yourself.

Key dates in Matt Mullenweg’s career

• 2003: Co-created WordPress with Mike Little as a fork of the b2 blogging software.
• 2005: Left CNET in late 2005 and founded Automattic.
• 2010: Automattic transferred the WordPress trademark to the newly created WordPress Foundation.
• 2019: Automattic acquired Tumblr from Verizon in August.
• 2023: WordPress celebrated its 20th anniversary.