Meta Acquires Chinese-Founded AI Startup Manus in $2 Billion+ Deal to Win the Agent War

In a holiday blockbuster that underscores the fierce race for autonomous artificial intelligence, Meta Platforms has acquired Manus, a buzzing Singapore-based (but Chinese-founded) AI startup, for a reported sum of $2 billion to $3 billion.

The deal, confirmed late Monday, marks Meta’s aggressive entry into the era of "Agentic AI"—systems that don't just chat, but actively perform complex work. It also represents a rare and geopolitically sensitive absorption of top-tier Chinese tech talent by a U.S. giant.


The "Next DeepSeek" Goes to Zuckerberg
Manus exploded onto the scene earlier in 2025, earning the nickname "China's next DeepSeek" for its ability to outperform major U.S. models on complex reasoning benchmarks.

The Tech: Unlike standard chatbots (like ChatGPT) that wait for prompts, Manus is a "General AI Agent." It can be given a vague goal—"plan a 5-day marketing campaign and write the code for the landing page"—and it will autonomously break down the task, browse the web, write code, and correct its own errors until the job is done.


The Revenue Machine: While many AI startups struggle to make money, Manus was reportedly already generating $100 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) within months of its launch, proving that businesses are willing to pay a premium for AI that "does the work."

The "Stealth" Talent Grab
Industry insiders describe the acquisition as a strategic coup for Mark Zuckerberg, effectively importing some of the brightest engineering minds from the Chinese tech ecosystem.

The Founder: Manus was founded by Xiao Hong (known as "Red Xiao"), a 33-year-old serial entrepreneur who previously founded the popular browser extension Monica.im. He will reportedly join Meta as a VP, reporting to Chief Operating Officer Javier Olivan.


Geopolitical Gymnastics: To navigate U.S.-China tensions, Manus had moved its headquarters to Singapore earlier this year. As part of the deal, Meta has bought out existing Chinese investors (including Tencent and ZhenFund) to ensure no Chinese ownership remains, clearing the way for regulatory approval.

Why Meta Bought It
This acquisition signals a pivot in Meta’s AI strategy from "social" to "functional."

Beyond Llama: While Meta’s open-source Llama models are powerful, they lack the specialized "agentic" framework required to execute multi-step workflows reliability. Manus provides that layer instantly.

Monetization: Meta is under pressure to show returns on its massive AI spending. Manus’s proven subscription model (charging businesses ~$20/month for digital employees) offers a blueprint for how Meta can finally monetize its AI beyond advertising.

"This is the end of the 'chatbot' era," said one Silicon Valley investor reacting to the news. "Zuckerberg just bought a workforce, not a language model."