Overview
Silver Lake invested $250 million in WP Engine in 2018, taking majority control of the managed WordPress hosting company. Six years later, WordPress co-founder Matt Mullenweg called WP Engine a cancer to WordPress and banned them from WordPress.org resources, triggering a legal battle that has split the community powering 43% of the web.
Now WP Engine is acquiring specialized agencies like Big Bite to build enterprise publishing products in-house, signaling a strategic shift from hosting provider to platform competitor against Automattic's WordPress VIP. The fight is about who controls WordPress's future: the open-source idealists or the private equity-backed pragmatists.
Key Indicators
People Involved
Organizations Involved
The largest independent managed WordPress hosting provider, serving millions of customers across 150+ countries with 1,200+ employees.
Creator of WordPress.com and exclusive commercial licensee of the WordPress trademark, valued at $7.5 billion in 2021.
A UK-based WordPress agency specializing in newsroom platforms and publishing workflows for major media organizations.
Global technology investment firm with $102 billion in assets under management.
Nonprofit that owns the WordPress trademark and WordPress.org domain to preserve the project's open-source nature.
Timeline
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Hearing Scheduled on Counterclaims Dismissal Motion
LegalCourt to hear WP Engine's motion to dismiss Automattic's trademark counterclaims, arguing they were filed too late and Automattic lacks ownership of the disputed trademarks.
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WP Engine Acquires Big Bite
AcquisitionWP Engine buys enterprise newsroom agency, winds down agency business to build publishing products in-house.
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Automattic Files Counterclaims
LegalAutomattic alleged WP Engine shifted from fair use to trademark infringement after Silver Lake investment.
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Court Dismisses Some WP Engine Claims
LegalJudge dismissed antitrust and extortion charges but kept Computer Fraud and Unfair Competition claims active.
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Court Grants WP Engine Preliminary Injunction
LegalJudge ordered Automattic and Mullenweg to restore WP Engine's WordPress.org access within 72 hours.
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159 Automattic Employees Quit
InternalWorkers took severance rather than support Mullenweg's campaign, 80% from WordPress division.
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WP Engine Sues Automattic and Mullenweg
LegalLawsuit alleges extortion, abuse of power, and interference with business operations.
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WordPress.org Bans WP Engine
TechnicalMullenweg blocked WP Engine access to WordPress.org, preventing customers from installing plugins or updating themes.
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Cease-and-Desist Letters Exchanged
LegalWP Engine and Automattic sent dueling legal letters over trademark and public statements.
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Mullenweg Calls WP Engine 'Cancer to WordPress'
StatementAt WordCamp US, Mullenweg publicly attacked WP Engine for profiting without contributing back.
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Automattic Demands 8% Revenue From WP Engine
LegalAutomattic sent trademark license agreement demanding 8% of WP Engine's monthly gross revenue.
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WP Engine Acquires NitroPack
AcquisitionWP Engine buys performance optimization platform with 219,000 website installations.
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Silver Lake Invests $250M in WP Engine
InvestmentPrivate equity firm takes majority stake when WP Engine hits $100M annual recurring revenue.
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Heather Brunner Becomes WP Engine CEO
LeadershipBrunner promoted from COO to CEO, founder Jason Cohen moved to CTO role.
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Big Bite Agency Founded
BusinessBig Bite established as WordPress agency specializing in newsroom platforms at Teesside University.
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WordPress Trademark Transferred to Foundation
GovernanceAutomattic transferred WordPress trademark to nonprofit Foundation, then received exclusive commercial license back.
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WP Engine Founded
BusinessJason Cohen founded WP Engine to provide managed WordPress hosting for businesses.
Scenarios
Settlement: Automattic and WP Engine Reach Licensing Deal
Discussed by: Industry analysts noting both parties have strong incentives to avoid prolonged litigation
After years of legal battles, Automattic and WP Engine negotiate a trademark licensing agreement that allows WP Engine to use WordPress branding while paying royalties significantly lower than the original 8% demand. This scenario mirrors typical intellectual property disputes that settle before final judgment. The agreement would likely include clearer guidelines for all WordPress commercial users, reducing uncertainty across the ecosystem. Both companies save litigation costs and community goodwill, though the fundamental governance questions remain unresolved. The WordPress Foundation's relationship to Automattic stays murky, setting up future conflicts.
WP Engine Wins: Court Rules Trademark Arrangement Invalid
Discussed by: Legal experts analyzing the unusual Foundation-Automattic trademark structure and potential conflicts of interest
The court finds that Mullenweg's dual control of the WordPress Foundation and Automattic creates an impermissible conflict of interest, and that the exclusive commercial license arrangement doesn't serve the Foundation's nonprofit mission. The ruling forces the Foundation to license WordPress commercially to anyone meeting objective criteria, not exclusively to Automattic. This opens the WordPress trademark to broader use, fundamentally weakening Automattic's competitive moat. WP Engine and other hosts freely use WordPress branding. Mullenweg's authority over the ecosystem fragments. Automattic's valuation takes a significant hit as its privileged position evaporates.
Fork: WP Engine Creates Independent WordPress Distribution
Discussed by: Open-source community members and developers concerned about ecosystem fragmentation
Unable to secure stable WordPress.org access, WP Engine forks WordPress code into a separate distribution, leveraging its GPL open-source license. WP Engine uses Big Bite's publishing expertise and NitroPack's performance tech to differentiate the fork with superior enterprise features. Major hosting companies and agencies, frustrated with Mullenweg's governance, join the fork. The WordPress ecosystem splinters into Automattic-controlled WordPress.org and WP Engine's fork, similar to historical open-source schisms. Plugin developers must choose sides or maintain both versions. The 43% of websites running WordPress face difficult migration decisions. WordPress's network effects weaken as the community divides.
Automattic Acquires WP Engine to End the War
Discussed by: M&A observers noting consolidation trends in the WordPress hosting market
Silver Lake, facing prolonged uncertainty and potential trademark invalidation, seeks an exit. Automattic acquires WP Engine for a fraction of its 2018 valuation, bringing the largest independent WordPress host under Mullenweg's control. The deal eliminates Automattic's biggest commercial competitor and ends the legal battle. Automattic integrates Big Bite and NitroPack capabilities into WordPress VIP, strengthening enterprise offerings. However, the acquisition concentrates power over the WordPress ecosystem even more, alarming remaining independent hosts and agencies. Regulatory scrutiny increases. The WordPress community debates whether one company controlling both the platform and its largest host violates open-source principles.
Historical Context
Oracle vs. Google: Android Java API Battle
2010-2021What Happened
Oracle sued Google for using Java APIs in Android without a license, claiming copyright infringement. The case dragged through courts for a decade, with billions in potential damages at stake. Google argued it had the right to use the APIs under fair use. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled 6-2 in Google's favor in 2021, finding that Google's use of Java APIs was transformative fair use that furthered the development of computer programs.
Outcome
Short term: Google won, avoiding billions in damages and maintaining Android's Java compatibility.
Long term: The ruling established important precedent for software interoperability and API usage rights.
Why It's Relevant
Like WordPress-WP Engine, this was a battle over how much control a platform creator can exert over the commercial ecosystem built on top of it, with massive implications for the tech industry.
MySQL Dual Licensing and Community Fork
2008-2010What Happened
When Oracle acquired Sun Microsystems in 2009, it gained control of MySQL, the popular open-source database. The community feared Oracle would restrict MySQL to favor its proprietary database products. Key MySQL developers left to create MariaDB, a fork maintaining true open-source principles. Many major companies switched from MySQL to MariaDB, including Google, Wikipedia, and Red Hat. MySQL continued under Oracle, but MariaDB thrived as a community-driven alternative.
Outcome
Short term: The database ecosystem split, with MariaDB gaining rapid adoption among open-source advocates.
Long term: Both MySQL and MariaDB remain viable, proving open-source software can survive corporate control through forking.
Why It's Relevant
This illustrates what could happen if WP Engine or others fork WordPress—the ecosystem might fragment but both versions could survive, especially if the fork attracts developers frustrated with corporate governance.
Red Hat and CentOS: The Community Linux Betrayal
2020-2021What Happened
Red Hat announced it would discontinue CentOS Linux, the free version of its Red Hat Enterprise Linux that developers and small businesses relied on. The company shifted CentOS to an upstream development branch rather than the stable downstream rebuild users depended on. The move was seen as Red Hat pushing users toward paid subscriptions. Community members felt betrayed and created Rocky Linux and AlmaLinux as CentOS replacements. Thousands of organizations migrated away from CentOS.
Outcome
Short term: Community forks rapidly gained traction, undermining Red Hat's strategy to convert free users to paying customers.
Long term: Red Hat damaged trust with the open-source community while competitors gained users and goodwill.
Why It's Relevant
Mullenweg's WordPress.org ban mirrors Red Hat's attempt to leverage control of open-source infrastructure for commercial advantage—both triggered community backlash and alternative platforms.