The agreement on the purchase has already been reached, Euronews states. The acquisition of the artificial intelligence startup will reinforce Meta’s aggressive focus on accelerating the development of AI in Facebook and Instagram, as well as in a wider range of products.
Manus, a Singapore-based platform with Chinese roots, unveiled its first “universal” AI agent earlier this year, positioning itself as a multi-functional tool, from research to programming. The platform operates on a subscription basis, giving users access to its AI-powered services.
“Manus is already helping millions of users and companies around the world every day,” Euronews quoted Meta as saying in a statement published on December 30. It also notes that the company intends to scale the service, and Manus aims to “enable the adoption of universal agents across all our consumer and enterprise products, including Meta AI.”
The Singapore-based startup’s growth has been meteoric. Earlier this month, Manus said it surpassed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, just eight months after launching.
A Meta spokesperson said after the acquisition was announced that Manus AI will not retain any Chinese equity stakes after the deal closes, and the company will wind down its services and operations in China.
The deal was another high-profile move by the Silicon Valley-based company to strengthen its position in AI by acquiring fast-growing startups. In June, Meta spent $14 billion (€11.9 billion) to buy a 49% stake in Scale AI.
