Meta announced on December 29, 2025, that it will acquire Chinese AI startup Manus, as the tech giant accelerates efforts to integrate advanced AI across its platforms through strategic acquisitions and talent hires.
About Manus
Manus is part of Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology Ltd Co and is based in Singapore. The company develops general-purpose AI agents with the following characteristics:
- Functions as a digital employee: Executes tasks autonomously with minimal human prompts
- Specializes in research and automation: Excels at complex research tasks and workflow automation
- Claims performance surpassing OpenAI’s DeepResearch: Demonstrated superior capabilities at its launch earlier this year
Manus gained significant attention this year by completing dozens of tasks for users on X (formerly Twitter) for free, demonstrating its capabilities to the public.
Meta’s Strategy
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Meta will operate and sell the Manus service while integrating it into:
- Meta AI: Consumer-facing AI assistant
- Business products: Enterprise solutions
Earlier this year, Meta invested in Scale AI in a deal valuing the data-labeling startup at $29 billion and bringing in its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang. The Manus acquisition signals Meta’s serious commitment to agentic AI.
Intensifying AI Agent Competition
2025 has been called the “Year of AI Agents,” with major companies enhancing their agent capabilities:
- OpenAI: Expanding agent features through Codex and DeepResearch
- Anthropic: Leading the agent space with Claude Code and computer use
- Google: Strengthening Gemini’s agent capabilities
While Meta has championed AI democratization by open-sourcing its LLaMA large language models, the Manus acquisition represents a move to incorporate proprietary agent technology.
Regulatory Environment
The acquisition of a Chinese company by a U.S. tech giant draws attention amid geopolitical tensions. Manus’s Singapore headquarters may have been a key factor enabling this transaction.
This acquisition symbolizes both the value of China-originated AI innovation and the global competition for talent and technology in the AI industry.