San Francisco / December 30, 2025 — Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, has agreed to acquire Manus, a rapidly growing AI startup known for its powerful autonomous AI agents, in a major strategic move to strengthen its position in the global artificial intelligence arms race.
The acquisition, reported by The Wall Street Journal, positions Meta to integrate Manus’s advanced AI capabilities into its suite of consumer and business products while expanding its commercial AI offerings. Manus has built a significant user base worldwide, with millions of paying subscribers and high annual recurring revenue—making this one of the most important AI deals in recent technology history.
What Manus Does and Why It Matters
Manus is a Singapore-based AI company originally founded by Chinese entrepreneurs and later relocated to Singapore to tap international markets. The startup is best known for its general-purpose AI agent, an artificial intelligence system capable of planning and executing multi-step tasks autonomously—such as research, coding, data analysis, and complex automation—without continuous human direction.
Unlike conventional chatbots that primarily generate text responses, Manus’s agent can act like a virtual assistant with real task-completion capabilities. The technology has been widely adopted by both consumers and businesses, contributing to its rapid growth: Manus crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launch and exceeded $125 million in revenue run rate.
This blend of autonomy and real‐world application is central to Meta’s AI strategy, which aims to go beyond traditional conversational AI and build integrated, action-oriented AI tools across its platforms.
Terms of the Deal and Strategic Goals
Meta has not officially disclosed the financial terms of the Manus acquisition, but industry reporting suggests the deal reflects a multibillion-dollar valuation—significantly higher than Manus’s last funding round valuation of roughly $500 million earlier this year.
Manus will remain operational as a subscription-based service, and its technology is expected to be integrated into Meta AI and other Meta products, including experiences on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and the broader Meta ecosystem. Meta has stated it will preserve how Manus operates while using its infrastructure and reach to scale the technology to billions of users.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other executives view the acquisition as part of a broader effort to build services that offer advanced AI automation and utility, positioning the company more directly against rivals such as OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.
Millions of Paying Users and AI Revenue
A distinguishing feature of this acquisition is that Manus already has a proven revenue model, unlike many AI startups that rely primarily on venture funding. Its subscription service, which charges users — including businesses — for access to its AI agent, has driven strong commercial traction and a loyal user base.
For Meta, adding millions of paying users offers a rare opportunity to monetize AI more directly rather than solely relying on advertising dollars. This contrasts with Meta’s earlier AI investments, which were mostly aimed at internal capability building and future platform features.
Industry and Geopolitical Context
The Manus acquisition also comes amid heightened global competition in AI, particularly between the United States and China. Manus’s roots trace back to Chinese founders and early funding, which drew regulatory and political attention earlier this year. However, the company’s move to Singapore and subsequent international growth helped mitigate some geopolitical concerns.
Meta’s purchase underscores how major technology firms are securing talent and cutting-edge AI capabilities through acquisitions as much as through in-house development. It follows Meta’s broader trend of accelerating AI investments — including partnerships, data labelling acquisitions and talent recruitment — to support ambitious goals in AI research and product integration.
What This Means for Users and Businesses
For everyday consumers and businesses, the integration of Manus technology could translate into more powerful AI tools embedded within familiar Meta services. These could automate tasks, research, content creation and business analytics right inside apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook — an evolution beyond simple chatbots. Investing.com India
At the same time, Meta’s decision to keep Manus’s subscription service running independently means enterprises and power users who value standalone, high-performance AI agents will continue to have access to those capabilities. RTTNews
Broader Implications for the AI Industry
The Manus deal highlights several important trends shaping the AI landscape in 2025 and beyond:
- AI Consolidation: Major tech companies are increasingly acquiring startups with proven technology rather than building everything in-house.
- Commercial AI Growth: Firms with established revenue streams — especially subscription models — are becoming acquisition targets as tech giants seek monetization pathways for advanced AI.
- Talent and Technology Race: Competition for top AI talent and distinctive capabilities remains intense across the U.S., Europe and Asia.
The acquisition could mark a shift toward more agent-oriented AI products, where tools not only converse with users but also autonomously complete complex tasks and workflows at scale.
Conclusion
Meta’s acquisition of Manus is a landmark move in the evolving AI ecosystem, bringing millions of paying users and a highly capable autonomous AI agent into one of the world’s largest tech platforms.
The deal represents both a commercial milestone for AI and a strategic shift for Meta as it positions itself to compete more deeply with other AI leaders. Integration of Manus’s technology could reshape how users interact with AI across social networks, messaging apps and business tools — making advanced automation more accessible to billions around the world.
