Meta acquires intelligent agent firm Manus, capping year of aggressive AI moves

Core Insights - Meta Platforms has acquired Manus, a Singapore-based developer of general-purpose AI agents, to enhance its investments in artificial intelligence [1][3] - Manus launched its first general AI agent earlier this year, achieving an annualized average revenue of over $100 million within eight months of launch, with a revenue run rate exceeding $125 million [2] - The acquisition aims to accelerate AI innovation for businesses and integrate advanced automation into Meta's consumer and enterprise products, including the Meta AI assistant [3] Company Operations - Manus will continue to operate its subscription service without disruption following the acquisition, although further terms of the deal were not disclosed [4] - The company was initially a product of the Chinese start-up Butterfly Effect, later becoming a separate entity and gaining recognition for its chatbot's performance compared to OpenAI's DeepResearch [4] Funding and Expansion - Manus raised $75 million in a Series B funding round led by U.S. venture firm Benchmark in April, with backing from Tencent and HongShan Capital Group [5] - The start-up laid off most of its staff in Beijing in July and relocated its headquarters to Singapore in June as part of its global expansion strategy [5] Strategic Partnerships - Manus announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba's Qwen AI team in March, indicating its existing connections with Chinese tech companies [6]