Meta Acquires AI Startup Manus to Expand Autonomous Agent Capabilities

Meta Platforms Inc. has acquired Manus, a fast-growing artificial intelligence startup known for its autonomous AI agents, as the social-media giant intensifies its push into advanced AI products and services.

The deal was announced by Meta on December 29, 2025, as part of its ongoing strategy to accelerate AI integration across its platforms, including Meta AI, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

The financial terms of the acquisition were not publicly disclosed by Meta, but multiple industry reports estimate the deal is valued at more than $2 billion. Source

Manus is headquartered in Singapore and originally founded in China, has developed general-purpose AI agents capable of autonomously executing complex tasks such as market research, coding and data analysis with minimal human input.

Under the agreement, Manus will continue to operate its subscription-based AI agent service independently while its technology and engineering team join Meta to help build next-generation AI features. Meta said the Manus brand and products will remain available, with plans to scale the service to a broader set of consumers and businesses.

According to Reuters, Manus had achieved significant commercial traction before the sale, with annual recurring revenue reportedly above $100 million and millions of users worldwide.

The company launched its autonomous AI agent in early 2025, positioning it as a leader in the emerging category of “agentic AI,” capable of planning, executing and completing multi-step workflows. Source

Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg has made artificial intelligence the centerpiece of the company’s strategic agenda, investing heavily in AI research, infrastructure and acquisitions amid intense competition with rivals such as OpenAI, Google and Microsoft.

The Manus acquisition follows Meta’s earlier major AI investments, including a multibillion-dollar deal with Scale AI and ongoing development of its Llama family of language models.

The purchase also addressed geopolitical concerns tied to Manus’s origins. Meta confirmed it would sever remaining Chinese ownership interests and discontinue China-based operations associated with the startup, a move designed to mitigate regulatory scrutiny amid ongoing U.S.-China technology tensions. Source

Industry analysts say the acquisition signals a shift in the AI landscape toward systems that can autonomously perform real-world tasks rather than merely generate text or images. By bringing in proven agent technology with commercial product-market fit. Meta aims to accelerate the deployment of AI that goes beyond conversational interfaces to deliver execution-oriented functionality at scale. Source

Next Steps: Meta plans to integrate Manus’s AI agents into its existing suite of products and expand their availability to enterprises, with further announcements on rollout timelines expected in 2026.

Mansi Hake