Meta is acquiring Chinese AI startup Manus to boost its integration of advanced AI across platforms. Manus, based in Singapore, develops a general-purpose AI agent that functions as a digital employee, capable of independently performing tasks like research and automation with minimal prompts. Meta plans to operate, sell, and integrate Manus’s AI technology into its consumer and business products, including Meta AI. Manus claims its AI agent outperforms OpenAI's DeepResearch and has demonstrated its capabilities by completing numerous free tasks for users on X.
This acquisition aligns with Meta’s broader AI strategy, which includes earlier investments such as in Scale AI, a data-labeling startup valued at $29 billion. Manus is part of Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology Ltd Co and has relocated to Singapore, a move common among Chinese firms seeking to mitigate risks from Sino-U.S. geopolitical tensions. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
