Automattic, Inc. is a web development

Web development

Web development is a broad term for the work involved in developing a web site for the Internet or an intranet . This can include web design, web content development, client liaison, client-side/server-side scripting, web server and network security configuration, and e-commerce development...

 corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

 founded in August 2005.
It is most notable for WordPress.com

WordPress.com

WordPress.com is a weblog hosting provider owned by Automattic which opened to beta testers on August 8, 2005 and opened to the public on November 21, 2005. It is powered by the open source WordPress software...

 (a free blogging service), as well as its contributions to WordPress

WordPress

WordPress is a free and open source blogging tool and publishing platform powered by PHP and MySQL. It is often customized into a content management system . It has many features including a plug-in architecture and a template system. WordPress is used by over 14.7% of Alexa Internet's "top 1...

 (open source blogging software).

Projects

Other projects include:

• After the Deadline  – online proofreading tool
• Akismet
  Akismet
  Akismet or Automattic Kismet is a spam filtering service. It attempts to filter link spam from blog comments and spam TrackBack pings. The filter works by combining information about spam captured on all participating blogs, and then using those spam rules to block future spam...
  
   – anti-comment spam
  Spam (electronic)
  Spam is the use of electronic messaging systems to send unsolicited bulk messages indiscriminately...
  
   system capable of integration with many blogging platforms and forums
• bbPress – forum software
• blo.gs
  Blo.gs
  blo.gs is a service based on RSS feed aggregation, primarily from blogs, which produces a simple list of the user's bookmarked sites, ordered according to recentness of update. It was acquired by Yahoo! in June 2005...
  
   – RSS
  RSS
  -Mathematics:* Root-sum-square, the square root of the sum of the squares of the elements of a data set* Residual sum of squares in statistics-Technology:* RSS , "Really Simple Syndication" or "Rich Site Summary", a family of web feed formats...
  
   feed aggregator
• BuddyPress
  BuddyPress
  BuddyPress is an open source social networking software package owned by Automattic since 2008. It is a plugin that can be installed on WordPress to transform it into a social network platform...
  
   – social networking plugin suite
• Ping-O-Matic – pinging service
• GlotPress – collaborative translation tool
• Gravatar
  Gravatar
  Gravatar is a service for providing globally unique avatars which was created by Tom Preston-Werner.- Designs :...
  
   – globally recognized avatars
• IntenseDebate
  IntenseDebate
  IntenseDebate is a blog comment hosting service owned by Automattic, Inc. It competes with Disqus, Livefyre and Echo.It was launched as a private beta in January 2007 by TechStars, a startup incubator, and launched as an open beta on October 30th, 2007...
  
   – commenting tools
• PollDaddy – polls and survey tools
• WordCamp – series of conferences for WordPress users
• VaultPress – backup and security service for WordPress sites
• VideoPress – hosted HD video for WordPress sites

Automattic's employees include Matthew Mullenweg

Matt Mullenweg

Matthew Charles Mullenweg is an online social media entrepreneur, web developer and musician living in San Francisco, California. He is best known for his development of the free and open source web software, WordPress...

 and Ryan Boren, two of the primary developers of WordPress.

On January 11, 2006, it was announced that Toni Schneider would be leaving Yahoo! to become CEO

Chief executive officer

A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...

 of Automattic. He was previously CEO of Oddpost

Oddpost

Oddpost was a pay-for webmail service, in 2002, that pioneered the use of JavaScript to mimic a desktop mail application, the first notable foray into using Ajax methodologies for webmail...

 before it was acquired by Yahoo!

Yahoo!

Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...

, where he had continued as a senior executive.

In April 2006, it was discovered, through a Regulation D filing, that Automattic raised approximately 1.1 million dollars in funding, which Mullenweg addressed in his blog. Investors were Polaris Ventures, True Ventures, Radar Partners, and CNET.

On September 23, 2008, Automattic announces acquiring IntenseDebate

IntenseDebate

IntenseDebate is a blog comment hosting service owned by Automattic, Inc. It competes with Disqus, Livefyre and Echo.It was launched as a private beta in January 2007 by TechStars, a startup incubator, and launched as an open beta on October 30th, 2007...

. Two months later, on November 15, 2008, Automattic acquired PollDaddy.

On September 9, 2010, Automattic gave the WordPress trademark and control over bbPress and BuddyPress to the WordPress Foundation.