Meta’s Acquisition of Manus Marks Move from AI Models to Revenue-Generating Software

Meta Platforms has acquired Singapore-based AI startup Manus, signaling a strategic shift toward autonomous AI agents and leveraging existing revenue streams.

Meta Platforms has completed the acquisition of Manus, an artificial intelligence startup based in Singapore. This acquisition is part of Meta’s strategy to enhance its capabilities in autonomous AI agents, which are designed to perform multi-step tasks such as research synthesis, analytics, and automation workflows. Manus primarily serves enterprise subscribers and has reportedly achieved an annual revenue run rate of $100- $125 million, driven primarily by recurring subscriptions.

Murthy Grandhi, Company Profiles Analyst at GlobalData, finds that the acquisition is significant for Meta as it seeks to monetize its extensive investments in AI infrastructure. Manus provides a functioning business model with paying customers and proven infrastructure, offering Meta a high-margin software layer that can be integrated across its consumer and enterprise platforms, including Meta AI, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. This integration is expected to create immediate revenue opportunities and enhance Meta’s platform capabilities.

The financial terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed. Still, regional reports suggest the deal is valued in the billions of dollars, making it one of Meta’s most significant acquisitions to date. Manus’s founder, Xiao Hong, will join Meta as a vice president, bringing expertise in building and scaling autonomous agent products.

This move by Meta intensifies competition with companies like OpenAI and Google, as the focus shifts from AI model development to deployable agents that deliver measurable business outcomes. Enterprises are increasingly willing to invest in systems that can plan, execute, and verify complex workflows with minimal supervision.

The acquisition also highlights the growing influence of AI startups outside Silicon Valley, with Manus’s success demonstrating the rapid scaling potential of Asian AI companies. The challenge for Meta will be to integrate these autonomous agents safely and reliably across its platforms, which are used by billions of people worldwide. If successful, this could accelerate the adoption of AI “digital employees,” opening new revenue streams and transforming software usage in both professional and personal contexts.