WordPress owner Automattic acquires messaging app Beeper for $125m

For the uninitiated, Beeper is a universal chat app that consolidates multiple messaging services into a single inbox. Since its beta launch in 2021, the app has amassed around 100,000 users by integrating with popular platforms like Facebook Messenger, Signal, and Slack.

Migicovsky, who previously created the Pebble smartwatch before Apple’s foray into wearables, sees Beeper as a solution to the lack of open standards in online messaging.

In other news, we sold Beeper to @automattic. The deal closed on April 1. The next day was my first day as their Head of Messaging!

Beeper, as you know and love it, will continue as an independent team and product within Automattic. Our whole team has moved over, joined by new…

— Eric Migicovsky (@ericmigi) April 9, 2024

The acquisition follows Beeper’s high-profile clash with Apple last year over its “Beeper Mini” app, which allowed Android users to access iMessage – a capability Apple swiftly blocked. The incident drew regulatory scrutiny, with the US Department of Justice citing it in an antitrust lawsuit against the iPhone maker.

While Apple plans to support RCS messaging between iPhones and Android devices later this year, Migicovsky believes the Automattic deal will help “bring more awareness and attention” to the need for open messaging standards, the report states.

He praised Automattic’s open-source ethos, stating, “They know how to build open-source infrastructure to open-source the internet.”

With the acquisition, Beeper is exiting its beta phase and will be available to all users, marking Automattic’s ambitious foray into the messaging arena.