Meta Platforms has revealed its acquisition of Manus, an artificial intelligence startup based in Singapore that gained traction in Silicon Valley following its debut last spring, showcasing an AI agent skilled in tasks like job candidate screening and investment analysis. Manus claims to have surpassed OpenAI’s Deep Research in performance. Shortly after its introduction, Manus secured $75 million in funding from Benchmark, which valued the startup at $500 million. Notable investors, including Tencent and ZhenFund, had previously supported Manus before this investment.
By mid-December, Manus reportedly had millions of users and generated over $100 million in annual recurring revenue from subscriptions. Negotiations between Meta and Manus commenced around this period, with Meta purportedly agreeing to pay $2 billion for the acquisition, aligning with Manus’s intended valuation for its next funding round. For Mark Zuckerberg, this acquisition represents a lucrative AI offering against rising investor concerns regarding Meta’s hefty expenditure on infrastructure. Meta plans to allow Manus to operate autonomously while incorporating its AI agents into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, although the startup’s origins-established in Beijing and relocated to Singapore in 2023-could invite scrutiny from U.S. regulators.
Senator John Cornyn has voiced worries over American investments in Chinese firms, highlighting this as a bipartisan issue. Meta has conveyed to Nikkei Asia that after the acquisition, Manus will cut ties with Chinese investors and halt operations in China, with a spokesperson affirming that no Chinese ownership will remain post-transaction.
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