• A Singaporean AI company rapidly growing called Manus
• Media reports said Meta is paying 2 billion dollars

Meta announced it reached an agreement to acquire Manus, a startup in the field of artificial intelligence from Singapore, after it became the talk of Silicon Valley within a few months, following the release of a striking demo video this spring that went widely viral.

In the video appeared an AI agent capable of performing multiple tasks, such as screening job applications, planning trips, and analyzing investment portfolios, while Manus confirmed at the time that its technology outperformed Deep Research by OpenAI.

Just weeks after its launch, Benchmark led a funding round worth 75 million dollars, raising Manus’ valuation to 500 million dollars after the investment, with general partner Chetan Puttagunta joining its board.

Chinese media reported that prominent investors, including Tencent, ZhenFund, and HSG, had participated in an earlier 10 million dollar round.

Despite Bloomberg’s skepticism over Manus’ monthly subscriptions (39 and 199 dollars) for a product still in testing, the company later announced it had attracted millions of users and surpassed 100 million dollars in annual revenue.

According to an American newspaper, Meta began acquisition negotiations after this rapid growth, bringing the deal to around 2 billion dollars, the same valuation Manus sought in its next funding round.

This acquisition represents a notable step for Mark Zuckerberg, who is betting on artificial intelligence as a cornerstone for Meta’s future, especially as Manus is among the few companies in this field generating actual revenue, at a time when investors are increasingly concerned about Meta’s massive infrastructure spending, estimated at around 60 billion dollars.

Meta confirmed it will keep Manus operating independently while integrating its technologies later into platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, where the AI assistant Meta AI is already available.