Manus, an AI agent released by Chinese start-up Monica Photo: VCG
Meta’s acquisition of Singapore-based Manus, a tech startup founded by Chinese entrepreneurs, is indicative of the importance of artificial intelligence（AI） agents in the rapid global AI development, which also reflects the recognition by leading US companies on the innovative ability of Chinese tech firms, a Chinese expert said on Tuesday.
Meta announced on Monday (US time) that it would acquire AI startup Manus, as the US technology giant accelerates efforts to integrate advanced AI across its platforms, according to Reuters.
Singapore-based Manus develops general-purpose AI agents that can operate as a digital employee, executing tasks such as research and automation independently and with minimal prompting.
Commenting on the news, Liu Dingding, a veteran industry analyst, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the acquisition, just months after Manus gained media attention earlier this year, highlights the recognition by the US tech giant of the company’s technological capability.
Earlier this year, Manus launched its AI agent, claiming that its performance surpasses that of OpenAI’s AI agent DeepResearch, according to Reuters.
The company, part of Beijing-based Butterfly Effect Technology Ltd Co, has marketed its product by completing dozens of tasks for users on X free of charge.
Financial terms of its deal with Manus were not released, but some media outlets claimed the value of the deal could worth billions of dollars. Manus cannot be reached by the Global Times as of press time.
“Meta’s high valuation of Manus signals that the era of truly intelligent AI agents may be finally arriving. For large tech companies, developing a product themselves would take time, so it makes sense to spend money to buy time. The reportedly billions of dollars may sound substantial, but it saved Meta several months. For big tech giants facing fierce competition, time is priceless,” Liu said.
Meta will operate and commercialize the Manus service, as well as integrate it into its consumer and business products, including Meta AI, according to Meta.
In a statement titled “Manus Joins Meta for Next Era of Innovation” and published on its website on Monday, the company confirmed that it “is joining Meta,” saying the announcement is a “validation of its pioneering work with General AI Agents.”
Manus said it has focused on building a general-purpose AI agent designed to help users tackle research, automation, and complex tasks since its launch.
“In just a few months, our agent has processed more than 147 trillion tokens and powered the creation of over 80 million virtual computers,” the statement said.
The company said it believes in the potential of autonomous agents and that the development reinforces Manus’s role as an execution layer — turning advanced AI capabilities into scalable, reliable systems that can carry out end-to-end work in real-world settings.
“With time, we hope to expand this subscription to the millions of businesses and billions of people on Meta’s platforms”, according to the Manus statement.
“The big news on Monday also revealed a fact that China and the US are the front-runners in the global AI development,” Liu Dingding said. “The big tech firms would also acquire valuable products from other parts of the world, but primarily the offerings are concentrated in the two countries.”