Meta announced on Monday that it will acquire Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup Manus, as the tech giant intensifies efforts to embed advanced AI across its platforms.
Financial terms were not officially disclosed, but a source familiar with the deal estimated Manus, based in Singapore, to be valued between $2 billion and $3 billion. Manus did not immediately respond to requests for comment, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.
Once touted as China’s next DeepSeek, Manus gained global attention earlier this year on X by unveiling what it claimed was the world’s first general AI agent—an autonomous system capable of making decisions and executing tasks with significantly less prompting than conventional AI chatbots.
Beijing has shown interest in supporting Manus, which asserts that its AI agent outperforms OpenAI’s DeepResearch. The company also maintains a strategic partnership with Alibaba to collaborate on AI model development.
Meta plans to operate and market the Manus service while integrating it into its consumer and business offerings, including Meta AI.
Tech giants like Meta have been aggressively investing in AI through acquisitions and talent hires amid intense industry competition. Earlier this year, Meta invested in Scale AI, a data-labeling startup valued at $29 billion, which also brought in its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang.
Manus, backed by parent company Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, raised $75 million this year at a valuation of roughly $500 million, according to media reports, with U.S. venture firm Benchmark leading the funding round.
The company is part of a wave of Chinese firms relocating to Singapore in recent years, aiming to minimize the risks of disruptions caused by Sino-U.S. geopolitical tensions while taking advantage of the city-state’s trade-focused environment.
News.Az
