Meta acquires AI startup Manus in milestone deal worth over $2 billion

On Monday, 29th December 2025, Meta announced its acquisition of Manus, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence startup with Chinese origins. The deal is intended to accelerate the integration of advanced autonomous AI agents across Meta’s platforms, including Instagram, WhatsApp and Facebook.

While official financial terms were not disclosed, reports from the Wall Street Journal and Reuters estimate the deal’s value at between $2 billion and $3 billion. This transaction represents Meta's third-largest acquisition, following its purchases of WhatsApp and Scale AI.

Founded in 2022 by Xiao Hong under the parent company Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, Manus gained global attention earlier this year. It launched what it claimed to be the world's first "general-purpose" AI agent. Unlike standard chatbots that primarily provide text-based instructions, Manus is designed to execute multi-stage tasks independently. These capabilities include market research, data analysis, full-stack coding and workflow automation with minimal user prompting.

Manus relocated its headquarters to Singapore in June 2025 to mitigate risks associated with Sino-US geopolitical tensions. As part of the acquisition, Manus will sever its ties with Chinese investors and cease operations within China, leading to redundancies for its China-based staff. The remaining team will join Meta, though the startup will continue to operate its independent subscription service from Singapore.

Meta plans to integrate the Manus technology into its consumer and business products, specifically bolstering the capabilities of Meta AI. The acquisition arrives amid an aggressive AI investment cycle for Meta, which has committed significant capital expenditure to hardware and talent to compete with OpenAI and Google.

The deal may face regulatory scrutiny in both Washington and Beijing. US lawmakers have previously criticised American venture capital investment in the firm, while Chinese analysts have expressed concern regarding the loss of domestic AI talent to American technology giants.