Automattic Acquires Texts, An All-in-One Messaging App – WP Tavern
Automattic has acquired Texts, an all-in-one messaging platform, for $50 million. Texts is a more recent firm based in 2020 that creates a centralized inbox for all main messaging platforms, together with iMessage, WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Sign, Twitter, LinkedIn, Slack, and Discord.
The proliferation of messaging apps and inboxes has made responding to communication extra sophisticated than it was in earlier years. Most corporations would favor to maintain customers on their very own platforms, however Texts gives a brand new stage of interoperability between messaging apps that doesn’t require using its personal servers. The web site states that customers’ messages by no means contact Texts’ servers. They’re encrypted and despatched on to the messaging platforms. Texts fees a month-to-month subscription, as a substitute of being profitable by promoting customers’ information. It additionally gives numerous AI-powered options for chat summaries, drafts, and translation.
Automattic’s Texts acquisition announcement states that the corporate is transferring “right into a fourth market that’s integral to the trendy internet expertise: messaging.”
Mullenweg has been eying the messaging marketplace for years and has beforehand spoken of his fascination with messaging platforms and their relationship with the impartial internet. In an interview with Om Malik at WordCamp Europe 2017, he talked about that Automattic was experimenting with Telegram’s group broadcasting characteristic. Extra lately, it 2020, Automattic invested $4.6M in New Vector, an organization based by the creators of Matrix, an open commonplace that powers decentralized conversations with end-to-end encryption.
Texts’ founder, Kishan Bagaria, will tackle a brand new position as Head of Messaging at Automattic and the remainder of the 10-person workforce was retained to proceed engaged on the product.
In response to an inquiry in regards to the standing of the iOS and Android cellular apps for Texts, a consultant from Automattic mentioned the corporate is presently testing an iOS beta with a subset of customers. Android assist is on the roadmap. The consultant additionally confirmed there aren’t any plans to vary pricing proper now however Automattic is contemplating the addition of a freemium plan sooner or later.
Texts will probably be increasing its protection to streamline messages throughout extra platforms. Matrix, Tumblr, and lots of extra integrations are on the roadmap, together with Snapchat, Google Messages, and Reddit.
