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Meta has acquired the China-born, globally expanding AI startup Manus.
Once again, Chinese innovators have created an AI miracle.
On December 30, the most explosive market news was that Manus, an AI startup originating from China, was acquired by Meta!
It is reported that Meta has agreed to acquire the AI startup Manus, adding a popular AI agent to its commercial portfolio built around massive AI investments.
Sources familiar with the matter stated that the deal values Manus at over $2 billion. The transaction was reportedly negotiated and finalized in approximately ten days.
Meta stated in a declaration that it plans to continue operating and selling Manus services externally while also integrating them into its own products. Manus is backed by prominent Chinese institutions including Tencent Holdings, ZhenFund, and HSG. Manus gained popularity earlier this year, shortly after the launch of DeepSeek.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has prioritized AI as the company's number one focus, investing billions of dollars to recruit researchers, build data centers, and develop new models. Manus, which earlier this year began offering subscription-based AI agent services to enterprises, achieved an annualized revenue (extrapolated from current growth rates) of $125 million. This acquisition could enable Meta to see more immediate returns on its AI investments sooner.
Manus's AI agents can perform a variety of general tasks based on simple instructions, such as screening resumes, creating travel itineraries, and analyzing stocks. Manus's parent company, Butterfly Effect, was initially founded in China before relocating to Singapore; the company raised funds earlier this year in a round led by the US venture capital firm Benchmark, achieving a valuation close to $500 million at that time.
AI agents are a category of tools capable of performing specific digital tasks without human supervision. Many enterprise software companies have been vigorously promoting their own agents, claiming they are more effective than generative AI features requiring continuous user prompting and interaction (like chatbots) for helping businesses implement this new technology.
Meta already has its own AI chatbot, Meta AI, accessible through social and messaging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and also integrated into its AI glasses. The US company will acquire both Manus's technology and its management team through this acquisition, although the announcement did not specify under which internal department the new team will be placed. Meta's Chief AI Officer, Alexandr Wang, joined Meta this summer, following a notable investment Meta made in his startup, Scale AI.
Following the announcement, Alexandr Wang posted on X to welcome the Manus team to Meta.
Manus co-founder and CEO Xiao Hong also stated in a post that this deal will help the company expand the reach of its agents. "The era where AI doesn't just talk, but acts, creates, and delivers, has only just begun."
Meta's aggressive investments to gain an edge in the AI race are on par with those of competitors like OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft. Zuckerberg has committed to investing $600 billion in US infrastructure projects over the next three years, many of which are expected to be AI-related. The company has also recruited a research team at great expense to develop a new, state-of-the-art AI model, scheduled for release next spring. However, some investors remain skeptical about the massive expenditures, concerned that they may not translate into meaningful revenue in the short term.
Manus's official website shows that just eight months after its official launch, the company successfully surpassed $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), making Manus the fastest-growing startup globally to reach $100 million ARR from scratch. Currently, the company's total revenue run rate exceeds $125 million annually, a figure that includes usage-based revenue and other business income. Since the release of Manus 1.5, the company has maintained a monthly compound growth rate of over 20% and is accelerating product iterations and the launch of new features.
Turning to the performance of the A-share market, the Shanghai Composite Index experienced narrow fluctuations throughout the day, while the ChiNext Index showed slightly stronger performance. At the close, the Shanghai Composite edged down slightly, the Shenzhen Component Index rose 0.49%, and the ChiNext Index gained 0.63%.
A total of 1,840 stocks advanced across the two exchanges, with 66 hitting the daily limit-up, while 3,481 stocks declined.
Robotics concept stocks collectively surged, with Bokeh and Sanhua Intelligent Control among nearly 20 stocks that rose by the daily limit.
Liquid cooling server concept stocks moved higher, with Tongyi Shares rising by the daily limit and Dingtong Technology gaining over 10%.
AI agent concept stocks were active, with Kute Smart and Nanxing Co. hitting the daily limit-up.
Commercial aerospace concept stocks initially rose sharply but later retreated; Daye Shares achieved five consecutive limit-up boards, while Shenjian Shares fell by the daily limit.
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