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Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, has acquired the messaging app Beeper, which you’d remember for Beeper Mini, its ‘iMessage for Android’ app, over which the company had a brawl with Apple.
The $125 million deal closed earlier this month, bringing Beeper’s 27 employees, including co-founder Eric Migicovsky, into the Automattic fold. Migicovsky, known for creating the Pebble smartwatch, will now take on the role of messaging head at Automattic.
Beeper, a universal chat app that consolidates multiple messaging services into a single inbox, has amassed around 100,000 users since its beta launch in 2021 by integrating with popular platforms like Facebook Messenger, Signal, and Slack.
But the company’s other app has been in the news. Introduced last year, the Beeper Mini brought iMessage to Android phones. Beeper’s dream didn’t last long, as Apple forced the company into shutting down the app, citing security and privacy issues for its users. The acquisition came shortly after last year’s high-profile clash between Beeper and Apple.
The dispute centred around Beeper’s launch of “Beeper Mini,” an app that allowed Android users to access Apple’s iMessage service. Apple quickly blocked the app, drawing attention from regulators and prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to cite the case in an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker.
Migicovsky sees Beeper as a solution to the lack of open standards in online messaging and believes the Automattic deal will help “bring more awareness and attention” to this issue.
Automattic’s founder and CEO, Matt Mullenweg, has been vocal about his belief in open-source technology and its potential to create a more open internet. Migicovsky praised Automattic’s open-source ethos in a statement, stating, “They know how to build open-source infrastructure to open-source the internet.”
The acquisition marks Automattic’s second foray into messaging following its purchase of Texts last year. With the acquisition, Beeper is exiting its beta phase and will be available to all users. The company’s 27 employees will join Automattic’s distributed workforce, which already includes teams from Tumblr, Day One, and Pocket Casts.
The $125 million acquisition is a significant investment for Automattic but one that could pay off handsomely if the company’s vision for open messaging comes to fruition. Apple also continues to face increasing pressure to open its iMessage platform. While the company plans to support RCS messaging between iPhones and Android devices later this year, critics argue that this is not enough to ensure a level playing field in the messaging space.
The $125 million deal closed earlier this month, bringing Beeper’s 27 employees, including co-founder Eric Migicovsky, into the Automattic fold. Migicovsky, known for creating the Pebble smartwatch, will now take on the role of messaging head at Automattic.
Beeper, a universal chat app that consolidates multiple messaging services into a single inbox, has amassed around 100,000 users since its beta launch in 2021 by integrating with popular platforms like Facebook Messenger, Signal, and Slack.
But the company’s other app has been in the news. Introduced last year, the Beeper Mini brought iMessage to Android phones. Beeper’s dream didn’t last long, as Apple forced the company into shutting down the app, citing security and privacy issues for its users. The acquisition came shortly after last year’s high-profile clash between Beeper and Apple.
The dispute centred around Beeper’s launch of “Beeper Mini,” an app that allowed Android users to access Apple’s iMessage service. Apple quickly blocked the app, drawing attention from regulators and prompting the U.S. Department of Justice to cite the case in an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker.
Migicovsky sees Beeper as a solution to the lack of open standards in online messaging and believes the Automattic deal will help “bring more awareness and attention” to this issue.
Automattic’s founder and CEO, Matt Mullenweg, has been vocal about his belief in open-source technology and its potential to create a more open internet. Migicovsky praised Automattic’s open-source ethos in a statement, stating, “They know how to build open-source infrastructure to open-source the internet.”
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The $125 million acquisition is a significant investment for Automattic but one that could pay off handsomely if the company’s vision for open messaging comes to fruition. Apple also continues to face increasing pressure to open its iMessage platform. While the company plans to support RCS messaging between iPhones and Android devices later this year, critics argue that this is not enough to ensure a level playing field in the messaging space.
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