Meta to Acquire Chinese AI Firm Manus and Integrate Its “General Agent” Technology

Meta has announced its plan to acquire Manus, an innovative Chinese-made AI company, and to incorporate its “general agent” technology across its suite of products. Founded in March 2025, Manus quickly distinguished itself from traditional generative AI chatbots by promoting its capabilities in wide research and context-aware reasoning for producing actionable results tailored to user requirements.

Manus’ Groundbreaking Technology

Manus offers a sophisticated suite of services that enable complex tasks such as evaluating multiple job applications stored in a ZIP file. By opening the archive, reading the contained documents, assessing candidates based on specified criteria, and generating a ranked list, Manus demonstrates its ability to perform multi-step, context-rich reasoning. This process operates within a cloud-hosted virtual machine powered by a multi-agent system utilizing diverse models, highlighting its advanced agent-based architecture.

Origins and Growth

Created by Butterfly Effect, Manus’ parent company, the firm operates through entities in Hong Kong and recently relocated its headquarters to Singapore. According to claims, Manus achieved $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launch, underlining its rapid growth and market impact.

The Meta Deal

Meta’s official statement emphasizes that Manus is already serving millions of users and businesses worldwide. The company’s staff will join Meta following the acquisition, though financial details have not been disclosed. Manus regards this acquisition as validation of its pioneering work with General AI Agents, with ambitions to expand its AI solutions across Meta’s extensive platform user base.

Future Prospects and Strategic Vision

Manus’ CEO, Xiao Hong, expressed excitement about collaborating with Meta, stating that the partnership aims to build on a stronger foundation without altering Manus’ core functionalities or decision-making processes. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions creating a “superintelligence” service capable of deeply understanding users’ goals and helping them achieve these objectives—a vision that may be supported by Manus’ technological capabilities.

Meta’s Large-Scale AI Investment

In 2025, Meta plans to allocate at least $70 billion toward building data centers to support AI workloads, with ongoing testing of AI subscription products like “Meta AI+.” The company’s AI initiatives are seen as instrumental in boosting advertising revenues, and Manus could serve as a significant component of future AI offerings.

Recent Acquisitions and Industry Context

This acquisition marks Meta’s fifth AI-related purchase in 2025, following deals with startups such as PlayAI, WaveForms, Rivos, and Limitless. The company continues to attract top AI talent by offering substantial compensation packages.

Regional and Regulatory Notes

A Nikkei report indicates that Manus will sever ties with Chinese investors and cease operations within China, aligning with Meta’s strategic focus on expanding AI capabilities while navigating international regulations.

Meta’s acquisition of Manus signals a major step in its AI ambitions, set to influence the future of intelligent services on social platforms and beyond.