US tech giant Meta has announced plans to takeover Manus, a Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup hailed earlier this year as “the next DeepSeek”.
The news on Monday (US time) comes as Meta ramps up moves to integrate advanced AI across its platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook and more.
Financial terms of its transaction with Manus were not revealed, but a source with direct knowledge of the matter said the deal values the Singapore-based firm at between $2 billion and $3 billion.
ALSO SEE: China Looks to Tackle Addiction, Self-Harm From AI Emulating Humans
Meta has said Manus will cut ties with China after it has been acquired, according to Nikkei.
So, China’s response to the takeover may be interesting, given Beijing’s desire to bolster its tech and artificial intelligence capacity.
Manus did not immediately reply to a request for comment.
The startup went viral early this year on X after it released what it claimed was the world’s first general AI agent, capable of making decisions and executing tasks autonomously, with much less prompting required than AI chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
That drove commentators to call it China’s next DeepSeek, and it was cheered by Chinese state television.
Months later, the company moved its headquarters from China to Singapore, joining a wave of other Chinese companies that have done so to curb risks from US-China tensions.
Partnership with Alibaba
The company, whose products are not available in China, claims its AI agent’s performance surpasses that of OpenAI’s DeepResearch. It also has a strategic partnership with Alibaba to collaborate on their AI models.
Meta will operate and sell the Manus service and integrate it into its consumer and business products, including in Meta AI, the company said.
Tech giants such as Meta have been ramping up AI investments through strategic acquisitions and talent hires as they navigate fierce industry competition.
Earlier this year, the Facebook owner invested in Scale AI in a deal that valued the data-labelling startup at $29 billion and brought in its 28-year-old CEO, Alexandr Wang.
Manus, backed by its parent Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, raised $75 million this year at a valuation of around $500 million, the source said, confirming previous media reports. US venture firm Benchmark led the funding round.
Its investors also include HSG, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, ZhenFund and internet giant Tencent Holdings, PitchBook data showed.
- Reuters with additional input and editing by Jim Pollard
ALSO SEE:
Chinese Firms Fare Worst as Study Finds AI Majors Fail Safety Test
Meta Tolerates Billions in Chinese Scam and Fraud ad Revenue
The Idea of AI Super-Intelligence is a ‘Fantasy’
‘Big Short’ Wagers $1-Billion Bet That ‘AI Bubble’ Will Burst
DeepSeek Researcher Pessimistic About AI’s Impact on Humanity
DeepSeek Sharing User Data With China Military, Intelligence: US
Apple Taps Alibaba to Bring AI to Chinese iPhones
AI is ‘Effectively Useless,’ Veteran Analyst Warns
Spotlight on Big Tech’s Power and Water Use Amid AI Surge`
Amid Fears Of An AI Bubble, Indian Equities Become Surprise Hedge
