As the tech giant speeds up attempts to incorporate cutting-edge AI across all of its platforms, Meta said on Monday that it will purchase Manus, a Chinese-founded artificial intelligence start-up.
The Singapore-based company is valued at between $2 billion and $3 billion in the acquisition, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation, although the financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.
When asked for comment, Manus did not immediately respond.
Early 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 it. In an effort 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.
The company asserts that the performance of its AI agent outperforms OpenAI’s DeepResearch; yet, its goods are not sold in China. Additionally, it has a strategic alliance with Alibaba (9988.HK) and opens a new tab to work together on their AI models.
According to the company, Meta will run and market the Manus service and incorporate it into its commercial and consumer offerings, including Meta AI.
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-labelling business at $29 billion.
The source confirmed earlier media reports that 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 (0700.HK), ZhenFund, and HSG, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China.
Manus, launched in early 2025, is a “digital employee” capable of executing complex, is able to carry out intricate, multi-step tasks on its own with little assistance from a person, including market research, coding, and financial analysis.
The performance of the startup is an assertion that its agents beat OpenAI’s “Deep Research” capabilities went viral worldwide.
In contrast to many AI firms, Manus quickly gained significant commercial traction, generating over $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) just a few months after going public.
Manus will cease all operations and services in China after the sale, and Meta verified that all Chinese ownership interests will be purchased out in order to allay U.S. national security concerns and because of the deal’s size and the startup’s past connections to China, U.S. officials and politicians are anticipated to scrutinise it closely despite these precautions.
Also, in order to reduce risks associated with geopolitical tensions between the United States and China, the corporation, which was first established in Beijing and Wuhan in 2022, moved to Singapore in 2025
Additional details about the acquisition include the fact that Xiao Hong, the CEO of Manus, will become a Vice President at Meta and that Meta intends to incorporate Manus’s “general-purpose AI agents” into its main platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Manus’s current subscription-based service will still be accessible to its millions of present users, and the company will continue to operate as an independent brand from its headquarters in Singapore.
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