As the internet giant speeds up attempts to incorporate cutting-edge AI across its platforms, Meta announced on Monday that it will buy the Chinese-founded artificial intelligence firm Manus.
Although the transaction’s financial details were not made public, a source stated that the Singapore-based company is worth between $2 and $3 billion.
Earlier this year, Manus went viral on X after releasing what it claimed to be the first general AI agent in history, which could make decisions and carry out tasks on its own with significantly less assistance than AI chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
Because of this, pundits dubbed it China’s next DeepSeek, and Chinese state television applauded.
To reduce the risks associated with tensions between the United States and China, the corporation relocated its headquarters from China to Singapore a few months later.
Manus asserts that its AI agent outperforms OpenAI’s DeepResearch, even though its goods are not sold in China.
Additionally, it has a strategic alliance with Alibaba to work together on their AI models.
Meta will run and market the Manus service and incorporate it into its commercial and consumer offerings, including Meta AI.
“We see a natural fit into Meta’s rapidly expanding WhatsApp SMB (small, medium business) footprint, with extensions into CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s agentic-rich vision of personal AI,” stated Rosenblatt Securities analyst Barton Crockett.
As they negotiate intense industry competition, tech behemoths like Meta have been increasing their AI investments through talent hiring and strategic acquisitions.
The owner of Facebook invested in Scale AI earlier this year, bringing in its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang, and valuing the data-labeling business at $29 billion.
Manus, supported by its parent company Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, raised $75 million this year at a valuation of about $500 million.
The funding round was led by American venture capital firm Benchmark.
According to PitchBook statistics, its investors also include internet behemoth Tencent Holdings, ZhenFund, and HSG, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China.
