Deal valued between $2–3 billion signals intensifying race for next-generation AI capabilities.
Meta announced on Monday its agreement to acquire the Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup Manus, marking a significant strategic investment aimed at integrating advanced agentic AI across its global platforms. The transaction, whose financial terms were not formally disclosed, values the Singapore-based firm between $2 billion and $3 billion, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter.
Rise of a Chinese AI Contender
Once hailed domestically as “China’s next DeepSeek,” Manus gained international attention earlier this year when it released what it described as the world’s first general AI agent—a system capable of autonomous decision-making and task execution with minimal human prompting, distinguishing it from conventional chatbot interfaces. The demonstration went viral on social media platform X, drawing both acclaim and scrutiny from AI researchers.
Manus has since attracted interest from Chinese authorities, who have signaled support for its development. The company claims its agent’s performance surpasses that of OpenAI’s DeepResearch model in certain reasoning and execution benchmarks. It also maintains a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud, collaborating on model optimization and commercial deployment.
Strategic Acquisition amid Geopolitical Sensitivities
Manus is among a growing cohort of Chinese-founded tech firms that have domiciled in Singapore in recent years, a move seen as mitigating operational risks arising from U.S.-China geopolitical tensions. Its parent company, Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, raised $75 million earlier this year at a valuation of approximately $500 million, in a round led by U.S. venture firm Benchmark.
Meta stated that it will operate and sell the Manus service while integrating its technology across consumer and business products, including Meta AI. The acquisition underscores Meta’s aggressive push to embed agentic AI—systems that can plan, act, and interact autonomously—into its ecosystem, spanning social media, advertising, and enterprise tools.
Broader AI Arms Race Intensifies
The move reflects a wider trend among tech giants to secure cutting-edge AI capabilities through strategic acquisitions and talent hires. Earlier this year, Meta invested in Scale AI, a data-labeling platform valued at $29 billion, and brought aboard its 28-year-old CEO Alexandr Wang to bolster AI infrastructure efforts.
Industry analysts note that the acquisition of Manus could accelerate Meta’s development of AI-powered assistants, content moderators, and advertising tools that require less manual intervention. However, it also raises questions about technology transfer, data sovereignty, and regulatory approval, given the startup’s Chinese origins and the ongoing U.S.-China tech decoupling.
Looking Ahead
Pending regulatory reviews, the deal is expected to close within the next two quarters. If successful, it would represent one of the largest AI acquisitions in recent years and further consolidate Meta’s position in a hyper-competitive landscape where advanced agentic AI is becoming the next frontier.
As Meta integrates Manus’s technology, observers will be watching how the company navigates the dual challenges of innovation acceleration and geopolitical compliance, while striving to maintain an edge against rivals like OpenAI, Google, and emerging Chinese AI leaders.
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