US based tech giant Meta has announced on Monday that they will acquire Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup Manus, as the technology giant is gearing up to accelerate efforts to integrate advanced AI across its platforms.
The financial terms of its transaction with Manus are not officially announced, but a source with direct knowledge of the matter claims that the deal values the Singapore-based firm at between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Manus did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
What is Manus
Once considered as China’s next DeepSeek, Manus went viral earlier this year on X after it released what it claimed was the world’s first general AI agent, capable of making decisions and executing tasks autonomously, with much less prompting required than other AI chatbots.
Beijing has since shown interest in supporting Manus, which claims performance of its AI agent surpasses that of OpenAI’s Deep Research. The company also has a strategic partnership with Alibaba to collaborate on their AI models.
The company stated that Meta will operate and sell the Manus service and integrate it into its consumer and business products, including in Meta AI.
Tech giants such as Meta have been ramping up AI investments through strategic acquisitions and talent hires as they navigate fierce industry competition. Earlier this year, the Facebook-owner invested in Scale AI in a deal that valued the data-labeling startup at $29 billion and brought in its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang.
Manus, backed by its parent Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, raised $75 million this year at a valuation of around $500 million, the source said, confirming previous media reports. U.S. venture firm Benchmark led the funding round.
Its investors also include HSG, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, ZhenFund and internet giant Tencent Holdings, PitchBook data showed.
It is among a flurry of Chinese firms that have domiciled in Singapore in recent years, betting a move to the trade-focused city-state would reduce risks their operations get disrupted by Sino-U.S. geopolitical tensions.
(input from agency)
Also Read: Meta to Buy Manus: How This $2 Billion Acquisition Changes AI Technology and Meta’s Ecosystem
Syed Ziyauddin is a media and international relations enthusiast with a strong academic and professional foundation. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mass Media from Jamia Millia Islamia and a Master’s in International Relations (West Asia) from the same institution.
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