Beeper’s CEO is becoming the new head of messaging for Automattic and will lead the Beeper and Teams.com teams in developing new chat software.
WordPress owner Automattic has acquired the Beeper app as it shifts its focus to online messaging services.
The deal is reportedly worth $125m according to sources speaking to TechCrunch. Automattic also told TechCrunch that it has begun onboarding the Beeper team but that it couldn’t share further operational updates.
Beeper describes itself as a “universal chat app” that can send and receive messages on 14 different chat networks. The company claims to have 115,000 users on the beta version of its app.
Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky announced the acquisition in a blogpost and confirmed that he is taking the position of head of messaging at Automattic. He described the deal as a “fantastic match”.
“Automattic is best known for supporting WordPress and WooCommerce – two open-source software projects that underpin huge portions of the internet’s publishing and e-commerce infrastructure,” Migicovsky said. “Together, we’ll develop software for a third fundamental pillar of the internet: chat.”
Migicovsky said that Beeper will operate independently as part of Automattic’s “other bets” division and that his team will be merged with Texts.com – a messaging app that Automattic acquired last year. Migicovsky will lead the Texts.com and Beeper teams in his new position.
“It will take a bit of time for us to integrate and combine forces under the Beeper brand,” he said. “We’ve got big plans. I’m really excited about the future of chat.”
The former Beeper CEO claims the chat app sector has “stagnated” and that the big players are “entrenched in their positions”.
“Given the state of the messaging world, we’ve long felt the need for a strong ally with the resources to support us on our quest,” Migicovsky said. “Automattic has a long history of putting user control and privacy first with open source, and great bilateral relationships with Meta, Apple, Microsoft, Google, Matrix and others that we hope can usher in a new era of collaboration.”
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