Automattic CEO calls Tumblr his ‘biggest failure’ so far — but it’s a failure he isn’t ready to abandon. Matt Mullenweg, who also co-founded WordPress, made the candid admission during the WordCamp Canada 2025 Town Hall session, where he opened up about the challenges of managing the once-popular blogging platform.
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Why Tumblr Became A Struggle For Automattic
According to Mullenweg, Tumblr has remained on a completely different technical stack from WordPress, something he initially planned to fix by moving Tumblr’s entire back end to WordPress infrastructure. However, that ambitious migration project was paused earlier this year due to the enormous cost of transferring Tumblr’s half-billion blogs.
Mullenweg explained that such an effort would be hard to justify financially since Tumblr has not been profitable. Instead, it’s been largely supported by the success of Automattic’s other products, including WordPress.com.
Efforts To Save Tumblr Still Ongoing
Although Automattic CEO calls Tumblr his ‘biggest failure’ so far, Mullenweg emphasized that he’s not walking away from the platform. Over the past year, the company has taken steps to reduce operational costs through layoffs and reallocation of resources to stronger revenue-generating projects.
Still, Tumblr’s revival has proven challenging. Despite its loyal user base and cultural influence, the platform has struggled to find a sustainable business model in an increasingly competitive social media landscape dominated by TikTok, Instagram, and newer AI-driven platforms.
What’s Next For Tumblr And Automattic
Mullenweg’s comments suggest that while Tumblr may be a financial burden, it remains a passion project — one that aligns with Automattic’s long-term vision of open web publishing. The CEO hinted that new strategies could be explored to modernize Tumblr’s backend and possibly leverage WordPress’s strengths to give it a fresh start.
For now, Automattic’s focus is on optimizing its profitable products while continuing to explore ways to keep Tumblr alive. Whether this move turns the platform around or cements it as a costly lesson in tech acquisitions remains to be seen.
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