Tumblr has been sold to WordPress in $1.1 Billion but still no adult content. Tumblr gets a new owner, and Verizon has agreed to sell Tumblr to Automattic Inc., owner of WordPress. Verizon, the American telecommunications company, has sold Tumblr, the popular microblogging platform, to Automattic Inc., the parent company of WordPress, for an undisclosed amount. The deal was made after Verizon acquired Tumblr from Yahoo in 2017, and it’s rumored that the sale was made for less than $3 million, a significant loss compared to the $1.1 billion Yahoo paid for Tumblr in 2013.
The sale of Tumblr to Automattic Inc. marks a new chapter for the once-mighty blogging site, which has lost significant popularity to other social platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat. The move also comes after Verizon banned all adult content on Tumblr in December 2018, which caused user boycotts and a drop in site traffic. Despite this, Automattic CEO Mat Mullenweg has stated that there are no plans to reverse the ban on adult content.
The acquisition of Tumblr by Automattic Inc. is seen as an opportunity for the parent company to expand its portfolio and enhance its offerings in the social media space. With WordPress already being one of the most widely used content management systems in the world, the addition of Tumblr’s user base and content creation capabilities could prove to be a valuable asset for the company.
Tumblr’s loyal user base, which consists of artists, writers, and bloggers, has expressed concerns about the acquisition and the future of the platform. However, Mullenweg has assured users that Automattic Inc. will continue to maintain Tumblr’s independent spirit and community-oriented culture.
