Meta Platforms Inc. has agreed to acquire Manus, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence startup originally founded in China, in a strategic move to enhance its AI-agent technology across its consumer and business offerings, company and industry sources reported.
The terms of the transaction were not officially disclosed, but people familiar with the matter said the deal values Manus at approximately $2 billion to $3 billion.
Meta said the acquisition will support its efforts to integrate autonomous AI agents into products, including Meta AI, and potentially across platforms such as WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Manus’s technology is designed to perform complex tasks—including market research, coding and data analysis—with minimal human prompting, distinguishing it from traditional conversational-only systems.
Manus gained attention in 2025 for its general-purpose AI agent, which it marketed as capable of independently executing multi-step tasks and quickly attracting millions of users. The startup, developed by Butterfly Effect Technology, relocated its headquarters to Singapore amid geopolitical tensions and has secured backing from investors including Benchmark, Tencent, ZhenFund and others.
The acquisition is part of Meta’s broader push to accelerate its artificial intelligence strategy and compete more aggressively with rivals such as OpenAI and Google. It follows other large AI-related investments by Meta, including a significant stake in Scale AI.
Industry analysts view the deal as a significant step in Meta’s evolution from a social media-centric company toward a broader AI-driven technology platform, leveraging autonomous agent capabilities to extend its product ecosystem.
Read more on Tech Gist Africa:
Kaltura Acquires eSelf.ai in ~$27 Million Deal to Boost Conversational Avatar Capabilities
Grab Acquires China’s Infermove in Strategic Push Into AI-Enabled Robotics for Food Delivery
Marvell Technology to Acquire Celestial AI in Deal Valued at About $2.35 Billion
