Sources familiar with the situation indicated the transaction puts Manus’ worth at over $2 billion. This represents a somewhat unique purchase of an Asian tech firm by a major U.S. technology player, as well as another significant, billion-dollar-plus investment in artificial intelligence by Meta’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg.
Insiders indicated the arrangements were finalized in approximately 10 days, opting to remain anonymous as the specifics haven’t been made public. Meta intends to continue offering and marketing the Manus service, and to incorporate it within its own suite of products, according to a company announcement.
With backing from prominent Chinese entities like Tencent Holdings Ltd., ZhenFund, and HSG, Manus rapidly gained recognition earlier this year, shortly after the unveiling of DeepSeek. As part of the Meta takeover, all current Manus investors were cashed out, according to one source.
A representative for Meta communicated that, “Following the consummation of the transaction, there will be no Chinese ownership interest in Manus AI, and Manus AI will discontinue its offerings and activities in China.” The headquarters of Manus’ parent organization, Butterfly Effect Pte, was initially in China before moving to Singapore.
Zuckerberg has positioned artificial intelligence as a paramount focus for Meta, allocating billions to enlist researchers, establish data centers, and innovate novel models. Earlier in the year, Manus generated roughly $125 million in yearly revenue through subscriptions to its corporate AI tool, potentially offering Meta a quicker return on specific AI investments.
The Manus AI tool possesses the ability to execute various broad tasks, such as preliminary resume screening, assembling travel plans, and examining stocks utilizing basic prompts. Earlier this year, Butterfly Effect secured funding at a valuation nearing $500 million in a round spearheaded by the U.S. venture capital entity Benchmark.
AI tools are designed to accomplish particular digital responsibilities without the need for ongoing human oversight. Business software providers like Salesforce Inc. and ServiceNow Inc. are vigorously promoting these solutions as a more advantageous approach to utilizing AI for enterprises, compared to chatbots which demand continual interaction with a user.
Meta presently features its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, accessible across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, in addition to via the company’s AI glasses. Meta is procuring both the technology and the management personnel from Manus, however it didn’t clarify the new team’s role within the company’s organizational framework.
The Wall Street Journal had previously reported that Xiao Hong, co-founder and CEO of Manus, will be reporting to Meta’s COO, Javier Olivan. Alexander Wang, Meta’s chief AI officer, extended a welcome to the Manus team of roughly 100 individuals in a post on X. Xiao Hong stated in his post that the agreement will notably broaden the application of AI tools.
He wrote, “The age of AI that doesn’t simply converse, but acts, produces, and delivers is only commencing. Now we have the capacity to construct it on a scale previously considered unattainable.”
Source: Bloomberg