Meta Buys AI Agent Startup for $2 Billion, Says It Will Cut All Ties With China

Meta did it again. The social media giant just bought another AI startup. This time, it’s the Singapore-based AI agent company Manus.

Meta is buying the AI company in a deal worth more than $2 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. It’s the latest move in Meta’s increasingly aggressive push into AI. The company already has plans to invest billions into AI infrastructure. Additionally, Meta has snapped up or invested in AI startups like Scale AI and Limitless, a sign that its in-house efforts may not be moving fast enough.

However, there’s one hitch with today’s deal. Manus’s roots in China could raise eyebrows in Washington, as the U.S. and China remain locked in an AI arms race.

Manus made a splash when it debuted this spring as a general AI agent that could handle a wide range of tasks, including deep research, vacation planning, coding, and stock analysis.

Earlier this month, Manus announced that it had reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launching.

“Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made,” Manus CEO Xiao Hong said in a statement.

Meta said in its own announcement that it plans to continue operating Manus as its own service, while also integrating it into its own products.

The startup was founded by its parent company, Butterfly Effect, which previously held offices in Beijing and Wuhan. Shortly after launching Manus, the company moved its headquarters to Singapore.

Manus’s Chinese ties have already drawn scrutiny. Earlier this year, Silicon Valley venture capital firm Benchmark faced backlash from U.S. lawmakers after investing in Manus.

“Who thinks it is a good idea for American investors to subsidize our biggest adversary in AI, only to have the CCP use that technology to challenge us economically and militarily? Not me,” Sen. John Cornyn wrote in a post on X at the time.

In what appears to be an effort to get ahead of similar accusations, Meta said that after the deal closes, Manus will be required to sever all remaining ties with China.

In a statement to Gizmodo, a Meta spokesperson said:

Meta’s acquisition of Manus AI will enable us to provide the most advanced technology to our users with safeguards in place to eliminate areas of potential risk. There will be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI following the transaction, and Manus AI will discontinue its services and operations in China.

According to Nikkei Asia, Manus has laid off most of its Chinese employees and now has 105 staffers based in Singapore, Tokyo, and San Francisco.