Meta is acquiring Chinese-founded AI startup Manus, valuing the deal at an estimated $3 billion.
The deal aims to strengthen Meta's advanced AI offerings across consumer and business platforms.
The acquisition underscores Meta’s aggressive AI expansion strategy, following major investments like its recent deal with Scale AI.
Meta on Monday announced that it is acquiring Manus, a Chinese-founded AI startup, as the Instagram-owner steps up its efforts to build and deploy more advanced AI agents across its platforms.
While Meta did not disclose the financial details of the deal, media reports estimate that the deal values anywhere between $2 billion and $3 billion.
1 December 2025
Get the latest issue of Outlook Business
Manus shot into the global spotlight earlier this year after it released what it described as the world's first "general AI agent". Unlike common AI chatbots that mainly respond to questions, Manus claimed its AI system can independently plan tasks, make decisions and carry them out with far less human input.
The product went viral on social media platform X, drawing comparisons with China’s highly publicised AI models such as DeepSeek.
Founded in China, Manus later shifted its headquarters to Singapore, a move that reflects a broader trend among Chinese technology firms seeking to reduce exposure to growing geopolitical tensions between the US and China.
Notably, Manus’s products are not available in China, despite the company’s origins.
The startup has claimed that its AI agent outperforms OpenAI’s DeepResearch in certain tasks, though these claims have not been independently verified, according to reports. China has since shown interest in supporting the company and Manus also has a strategic partnership with E-commerce giant Alibaba to jointly develop AI models.
Meta said it will now operate and sell Manus’s services, and plans to integrate the AI agents into its consumer and business products, including Meta AI, which powers AI features across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
The deal highlights how major technology companies are increasingly using acquisitions and strategic investments to stay competitive in the fast-moving AI race.
Earlier this year, Meta invested heavily in Scale AI, in a deal that valued the data-labelling firm at $29 billion and brought its CEO, Alexandr Wang, into Meta’s AI leadership circle.
Manus is backed by Beijing-based Butterfly Effect Technology and reportedly raised $75 million earlier this year at a valuation of around $500 million, underscoring how quickly interest in advanced AI firms is rising worldwide.
