Speaking at the annual WordCamp US conference in Oregon, Automattic CEO and WordPress co-developer Matt Mullenweg branded rival company WP Engine a “cancer to WordPress.”
Mullenweg’s harsh comment criticizes WP Engine’s business model, which he argues commercializes the open-source project by profiting from WordPress without giving back in meaningful ways.
Referring to his own company, the CEO highlighted the difference in investment hours that Automattic and WP Engine have devoted to WordPress’s development.
WP Engine branded a “cancer to WordPress"
According to Mullenweg, Automattic devotes the equivalent of 3,915 hours per week to WordPress’s development, whereas WP Engine commits just 40 hours.
Despite acknowledging that the figures may not be accurate, they serve as an indication that Automattic could be returning nearly 100 times more to the project than WP Engine.
He also noted that both generate around half a billion dollars in revenue. Given the similar size of both businesses, their contributions are disproportionate.
He also urged customers to vote with their money: “The company is controlled by Silver Lake, a private equity firm with $102 billion in assets under management… Silver Lake doesn’t give a dang about your open source ideals, it just wants return on capital.”
TechRadar Pro has asked WP Engine to respond to Mullenweg’s comments, but the company did not immediately respond.
In a follow-up blog post, Mullenweg stated: “WP Engine is setting a poor standard that others may look at and think is ok to replicate. We must set a higher standard to ensure WordPress is here for the next 100 years.”
This isn’t the first time that Automattic’s CEO has slated another company. In the past, he accused GoDaddy of being a “parasitic company” that poses an “existential threat” to WordPress’s future.
More broadly, his comments reflect a broader sentiment across the sector that companies with the resources should have a responsibility to contribute to open-source projects, together with the moral uncertainty surrounding monetizing open-source work.
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