Who owns Tumblr?
Tumblr is owned by Automattic (the United States), which has owned the brand since 12 August 2019.[1]
This ownership is reported in official statements but has not yet been matched to a regulatory filing.
Evidence: Automattic — about us, Automattic Inc. Last checked .
Key facts
- Current owner
- Automattic Inc. reported
- Owned since
- Owner HQ
- 🇺🇸 United States, San Francisco, California
- Origin
- 🇺🇸 United States, New York, New York
- Founded
- 2007
- Category
- Internet & digital › Search & social › Social networks
- Last verified
- · 1 sources
About Tumblr
Tumblr was bought by Yahoo in 2013 for $1.1 billion and written down to almost nothing after a 2018 ban on adult content halved its traffic. Automattic acquired it in 2019 for a reported sum well under $3 million. Its culture of fandom, art and long-form posting survived the collapse in traffic, and Automattic has since said publicly that the site has never been profitable under its ownership.
Ownership timeline of Tumblr
- 2019 – present Automattic [1] reported
Where Tumblr sits in Automattic
Controlling ownership as of . Brands grouped under the entity that owns them; large groups are collapsed.
Open the full Automattic ownership tree →
See the full Automattic brand portfolio (4) →
Other brands owned by Automattic
Automattic controls 4 brands on Brandtree, 4 of them in internet & digital.
Also in internet & digital
- Gravatar (2004)
- WooCommerce (2011)
- WordPress.com (2005)
Other brands in social networks, and who owns them
The 19 brands in social networks on Brandtree belong to 14 owners. The largest is Meta, with 3.
About the owner: Automattic
Automattic is a privately held company headquartered in San Francisco, California, United States, founded in 2005. Brandtree records 4 brands under its control.
Automattic is the company behind WordPress.com, founded in 2005 by one of the creators of the WordPress software. It is privately held and fully distributed with no central office, and its relationship with the separate non-profit WordPress Foundation became the subject of open litigation in 2024.
🇺🇸 Tumblr and other American brands
Brandtree records a controlling owner for 2,549 brands that began in the United States. 478 of them (19%) are now controlled by a company headquartered in another country; Tumblr is not one of them.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the parent company of Tumblr?
The parent company of Tumblr is Automattic, a privately held company headquartered in the United States.
Is Tumblr American?
Yes. Tumblr originated in the United States in 2007 and its owner, Automattic, is also headquartered in the United States.
Since when has Automattic owned Tumblr?
Automattic has owned Tumblr since 12 August 2019.
Is Tumblr still owned by Automattic?
Yes. As of 16 September 2026, Tumblr is still owned by Automattic. The ownership record was last checked against primary sources on that date.
Sources (1) & corrections
Last verified . Every ownership fact above is backed by one of these primary documents. Numbers in brackets in the text refer to this list.
- [1] Automattic — about us — Automattic Inc., Official document; retrieved 16 September 2026.
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