The Wayback Machine - https://webcf.waybackmachine.org/web/20211017234301/https://www.axios.com/wordpress-vip-acquiring-content-analytics-company-parsely-f4b9cc5f-55a9-49db-a8c5-dd3759b7e8e9.html

Sign up for our daily briefing

Make your busy days simpler with Axios AM/PM. Catch up on what's new and why it matters in just 5 minutes.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Catch up on the day's biggest business stories

Subscribe to Axios Closer for insights into the day’s business news and trends and why they matter

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Stay on top of the latest market trends

Subscribe to Axios Markets for the latest market trends and economic insights. Sign up for free.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Sports news worthy of your time

Binge on the stats and stories that drive the sports world with Axios Sports. Sign up for free.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Tech news worthy of your time

Get our smart take on technology from the Valley and D.C. with Axios Login. Sign up for free.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Get the inside stories

Get an insider's guide to the new White House with Axios Sneak Peek. Sign up for free.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Denver news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Denver

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Des Moines news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Des Moines

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Twin Cities news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Twin Cities

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Tampa Bay news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Tampa Bay

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Charlotte news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with Axios Charlotte

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Nashville news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Nashville newsletter.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Columbus news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Columbus newsletter.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Want a daily digest of the top Dallas news?

Get a daily digest of the most important stories affecting your hometown with the Axios Dallas newsletter.

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Sign up for Axios NW Arkansas

Stay up-to-date on the most important and interesting stories affecting NW Arkansas, authored by local reporters

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!

Please enter a valid email.

Please enter a valid email.

Subscription failed
Thank you for subscribing!
Featured image

WordPress VIP and Parse.ly

WordPress VIP (WPVIP), the enterprise arm of WordPress.com, is acquiring Parse.ly, a content analytics platform that's used by thousands of digital publishers.

Why it matters: The deal is the first large enterprise software acquisition for Automattic, the parent company to WordPress.com, Tumblr and other tech platforms that enable people to publish content to the open web.

  • Automattic raised $300 million as a part of a Series D round from Salesforce Ventures in 2019, putting its valuation at $3 billion post-funding.
  • "Salesforce leading that round helped validate for us what we think is our opportunity for enterprise as a business," says WPVIP CEO Nick Gernert.

Details: The deal will bring shared benefits to the enterprise customers of both Parse.ly and WordPress VIP, of which there is overlap.

  • In a statement, the companies said that more than 800 combined enterprise customers worldwide will have access to the expanded set of capabilities — including Spotify, CNN, The Atlantic, and Slack.
  • All of Parse.ly's roughly 50 employees will join Wordpress VIP's team of 150 people. Automattic has roughly 1330 employees. Employees from both companies are and will continue to be fully distributed.
  • "We don't just have a shared mindset, but a shared philosophy of distributed and remote work," says Sachin Kamdar, Parse.ly CEO and co-founder. "We've been getting to know each other over the last few months. We have a shared vision."
  • The deal closes on Monday. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

What's in it for Wordpress VIP: In the near-term, all of WPVIP's enterprise customers will get access to Parse.ly's insights to measure and therefore improve their content, says Gernert.

  • WPVIP clients will get access to Parse.ly features, like content measurement and analytics and AI-driven content recommendations
  • "We're also excited about bringing on more product focussed people," Gernert says.
  • In the long-term, Gernert says he hopes to bring deeper commerce insights to Parse.ly to help WPVIP clients better optimize for commerce.

What's in it for Parse.ly: The deal will bring Parse.ly's team closer to the content being produced by many of its existing and potential publisher clients.

  • "We're an analytics company, but the closer we can get to the content creation process, the better intelligence we can provide," says Kamdar.
  • Parse.ly's customers will get access to the full suite of WPVIP offerings, like its global, 24/7 customer success team.
  • The deal will give Parse.ly the resources to hire at an aggressive pace. "It brings more resources to support the capabilities of our team," he adds.

The big picture: Both companies focus on providing services to companies or groups that want to publish on the open web. Publishing on the open web has become a greater focus as "walled gardens" like Facebook, Google, Twitter, etc., continue to dominate the publishing ecosystem.

  • "Our vision for this is to make our publishing software ubiquitous on the web," says Gernert. WordPress and WordPress VIP are intentionally built to be easy and flexibility to use for almost any type of web publisher. "Thats exactly how Parse.ly is built," Gernert added. "It's very user centric."
  • Kamdar notes that Parse.ly's business has transformed over the past few years as all companies started to invest in digital content and experiences. Parse.ly primarily served digital media companies, but now works across industries such as financial services, commerce, technology and travel.

Bottom line: "We want Parse.ly to provide the authoritative first-party content measurement for business content across many channels, whether that be media or corporate," said Andrew Montalenti, chief product officer and co-founder of Parse.ly.

Go deeper

Ina Fried, author of Login
1 hour ago - Technology

Intel CEO wants to compete against Apple

Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger hasn't given up on the idea of the Mac once again using Intel chips, but he acknowledges it will probably be years before he gets that chance.

  • In the meantime, he is focused on powering Windows machines that give Apple CEO Tim Cook a run for his money.

Why it matters: In getting pushed out of the Mac, Intel not only lost a customer, but picked up a new rival.

1 hour ago - Health

Education secretary reveals limits to Biden’s mask push on states

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, in an "Axios on HBO" interview, said he's reluctant to withhold federal funding from states that won't enforce school mask mandates because he doesn't want to hurt students.

Why it matters: Cardona's comments suggest there are limits to how far the Biden administration will go in pressuring states to adopt universal masking — or vaccine mandates.

Mike Allen, author of AM
1 hour ago - Axios on HBO

GOP senator smacks Trump

Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) told “Axios on HBO” he’s not sure former President Donald Trump would win the Republican nomination if he ran in 2024 — a rare voice of criticism from within the party.

  • When I raised the conventional wisdom that Trump would be expected to win the nomination, Cassidy jumped in.“
  • I don't know that,” the senator said during our interview in Chalmette, La.