Meta Acquires Singapore-Based AI Startup Manus to Scale Up AI Ambitions

Meta has acquired Singapore-based AI startup Manus, a startup that had positioned itself as the world’s first general-purpose AI agent for consumers and businesses, for $2 billion.

Manus launched in March 2025, showcasing its ability to autonomously handle complex tasks like writing and deploying code, screening job candidates, and even managing stock portfolios. Within just half a year, the company had attracted millions of users and more than $100 million in recurring revenue, making it one of the fastest time-to-profit startups in the industry.

Meta’s acquisition of Manus is the latest in a flurry of investments in the sector, following acquisitions of wearable AI startup Limitless in December 2025, chip manufacturer Rivos Inc. in September, and AI audio company WaveForms AI in August. These moves reflect Meta and founder Mark Zuckerberg’s recent pivot toward agentic AI and specialized hardware, which the company plans to integrate into platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

Unlike today’s leading AI platforms, Manus’s agent can act on behalf of users across a broad range of tasks by stringing together tools and APIs to accomplish complex workflows. What makes Manus special is that it actually made a profit within such a short timeframe. This is unusual in the AI industry, which has become increasingly saturated with concepts and beta releases over the last couple of years. With Mark Zuckerberg betting his company’s future on AI following a costly detour into the metaverse, Meta’s acquisition of Manus is a timely win that should help assuage the concerns of increasingly nervous investors.

The acquisition hasn’t been without controversy, however. There were also geopolitical concerns due to the fact Manus was founded by Chinese developers and originally had ties to China’s tech scene thanks to backing by companies like Tencent and others. Given the current tech rivalry between the US and China, the acquisition raised eyebrows in Washington, prompting Meta to swiftly announce that Manus will sever all ties to Chinese entities post-acquisition.

Meta’s move will likely encourage big-tech competitors like Microsoft, Google, and OpenAI to double down on agentic AI projects. That a small company like Manus reached $100 million in annual revenue within its first 8 months is astounding, highlighting potential for competitive pressure on incumbents. For software companies, the bar for AI features in software has been raised yet again, making it clear that regular generative AI chatbots are becoming table stakes, with autonomous agents becoming the new "wow" factor.