Automattic Acquires Beeper for $125 Million, Doubling Down on Open Source Messaging
In a significant move to shape the future of messaging, Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com, has acquired Beeper for $125 million. Beeper, known for its innovative iMessage-on-Android solution, caught the attention of the Department of Justice in its antitrust lawsuit against Apple. This acquisition follows Automattic’s purchase of Texts.com last October, solidifying the company’s commitment to cross-platform messaging.
Leadership Changes and Team Integration
With the acquisition, Beeper founder Eric Migicovsky, previously the founder of the Pebble smartwatch and a Y Combinator partner, will take on the role of Automattic’s head of Messaging. The Beeper and Texts.com teams, consisting of 25 and 15 members respectively, will merge to create a unified platform that combines the strengths of both products.
Image Credits: Beeper
The Vision: Open Source and Cross-Platform Messaging
Automattic’s acquisition of Beeper represents a significant bet on the future of messaging being open source and cross-platform, rather than confined to proprietary platforms like WhatsApp or iMessage. The ultimate goal is to transition users to Beeper’s own chat protocol, based on the open source Matrix protocol. Automattic has previously invested in Element, another company building on Matrix, and contributes annually to Matrix.org, alongside Beeper.
Image Credits: Beeper
Beeper’s Journey and the DOJ Briefing
Migicovsky revealed that the acquisition came about due to the high costs of running Beeper, which had raised $16 million in outside funding to date. The company briefed the Department of Justice on Apple’s actions that led to the blocking of its newer app, Beeper Mini, which aimed to bring iMessage to Android. As a result, Beeper Mini is no longer being updated.
Image Credits: Beeper
Beeper on Android: A New Era Begins
Beeper is now releasing an updated version of its core app on Android, which connects with 14 services, including Messenger, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Instagram DM, LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Discord, and Google Messages. The app will roll out end-to-end encryption across various platforms, starting with Signal.
With the launch out of beta, the new app boasts a refreshed design, instant chat opens and sends, local caching of chats, and full message search. The 10,000 Android beta testers and 466,000 waitlisted users can now experience the app, joining over 115,000 existing users.
Image Credits: Beeper
Future Plans and Revenue Generation
Beeper plans to add more services, such as Google Voice, Snapchat, and Microsoft Teams, and offer a widget API for developers to build on top of the platform. The app will generate revenue through a premium subscription, with pricing details to be finalized. Currently, Beeper is free to use.
As Automattic and Beeper’s remotely distributed teams begin to integrate the two messaging apps, Texts.com will continue to operate independently for the time being.
Updated 4/9/24, 5:05 PM ET to clarify that Beeper’s chat protocol is based on Matrix.
2 Comments
$125M for Beeper, looks like Automattic’s stepping up their game or just have cash to burn!
Automattic’s jumping into the messaging game with Beeper, interesting move for $125M!