Sophie Blake
Meta has agreed to acquire Manus, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence startup known for its autonomous “general AI agent,” marking the latest move in the company’s accelerated push to expand advanced automation across its consumer and business products.
Meta did not disclose financial terms. The acquisition brings under Meta’s control a fast-growing AI company that emerged earlier this year after releasing an agent designed to autonomously execute tasks such as research, coding, and data analysis with minimal human input.
Manus was founded by a China-born team under the parent company Butterfly Effect Technology before relocating its headquarters to Singapore in mid-2025. The company attracted significant attention after claiming its agent outperformed comparable systems such as OpenAI’s Deep Research. It later reported crossing $100 million in annual recurring revenue within months of launch and said its systems have processed more than 147 trillion tokens of data.
Meta said it plans to continue operating and selling the Manus subscription service while integrating its technology into Meta AI and other consumer and enterprise offerings. Manus employees will join Meta’s AI teams as part of the transaction.
The acquisition follows a period of aggressive AI expansion at Meta, which has combined internal development with large-scale investments and acquisitions. Earlier in 2025, Meta invested more than $14 billion in data-labeling firm Scale AI and brought its founder into a senior leadership role. The company has also pursued talent and technology from smaller AI startups as it competes with rivals such as OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.
Manus had raised $75 million earlier this year in a funding round led by U.S. venture capital firm Benchmark, with backing from investors including Tencent and HongShan Capital Group. According to reporting from multiple outlets, Manus was in discussions to raise additional capital at a $2 billion valuation when Meta approached the company.
The deal also carries geopolitical sensitivities. Manus’ Chinese origins have drawn scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers amid heightened concerns over AI competition with China. Meta has said that following the acquisition, Manus will sever ties with Chinese investors and discontinue operations in China.
Industry analysts see the transaction as another sign of consolidation in the AI sector, as major technology companies seek to secure differentiated products that have moved beyond experimentation into commercial deployment. With Manus, Meta adds a revenue-generating AI agent to its portfolio as it continues to invest heavily in infrastructure and model development.
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