Meta Platforms announced on 30th of December that it has acquired Manus, a Singapore-based developer of general-purpose AI agents, in a deal valued at more than $2 billion. Manus, founded in China before relocating to Singapore, introduced its first AI agent in March this year, which can execute complex tasks such as market research, coding, or data analysis. The deal marks one of the first major instances of a key player in U.S. tech buying a startup founded in China.
In April, venture capital firm Benchmark led a $75 million funding round that assigned Manus a post-money valuation of $500 million, demonstrating the startup's rapid ascent in the AI agent market. The company claimed it had achieved an annualised average revenue of more than $100 million just eight months after launch, whilst its revenue run rate exceeded $125 million. Meta says it will keep Manus running independently whilst weaving its agents into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, where Meta's own chatbot, Meta AI, is already available to users. A Meta spokesperson stated there will be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI following the transaction, and Manus AI will discontinue its services and operations in China, addressing geopolitical concerns raised by U.S. lawmakers.
For Meta, the Manus deal is the latest in a series of multibillion-dollar bets aimed at turning heavy infrastructure spending on AI chips and data centres into commercially viable products. The startup was seeking a fresh round of fundraising at a $2 billion valuation when it was approached by Meta, highlighting the strategic timing of the acquisition. The transaction underscores Meta's aggressive push to compete in the AI agent space whilst navigating the complex geopolitical landscape surrounding Chinese-founded technology companies.
Sources:
- https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/30/meta-acquires-singapore-ai-agent-firm-manus-china-butterfly-effect-monicai.html
- https://fortune.com/2025/12/30/meta-buys-manus-mark-zuckerberg-ai-spending-spree-china-startup/
- https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/29/meta-just-bought-manus-an-ai-startup-everyone-has-been-talking-about/
