Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and other platforms, acquired the messaging app Texts for $50 million. Texts consolidates various messaging apps into one interface, emphasizing unification. Automattic’s CEO, Matt Mullenweg, sees messaging as a new focus, alongside publishing and commerce. Texts founder Kishan Bagaria and the app’s on-device encryption model are highlighted. Mullenweg envisions supporting open-source messaging standards and emphasizes Texts’ potential in simplifying and securing messaging, with plans to finish the mobile app. The company aims to capitalize on the growing importance of private messaging in the online landscape.