There will be no...: Meta buys AI startup Manus; Issues clarification on 'Chinese link'
Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has acquired Chinese-founded AI startup Manus for an estimated $2 billion to $3 billion. Manus, known for its autonomous AI agent, recently relocated its headquarters to Singapore. Meta emphasized that there will be no continuing Chinese ownership and operations in China will cease, aiming to navigate US-China tech tensions.
Facebook-parent Meta recently announced acquisition of Chinese-founded Artificial Intelligence (AI) startup Manus. Mark Zuckerberg-owned company did not disclose financial terms of the transaction, but a source with direct knowledge of the matter said that the deal values the Singapore-based company between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Manus is backed by its parent Beijing-based Butterfly Effect Technology, and raised $75 million this year at a valuation of around $500 million. Its investors also include HSG, formerly known as Sequoia Capital China, ZhenFund and internet giant Tencent Holdings. Manus had an annual revenue run rate of $125 million earlier this year from selling its AI agent to businesses via subscriptions.In 2025, Manus went viral on X, formerly Twitter, 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.
This made many analysts call it China's next DeepSeek, and the company was cheered by Chinese state television. The company months later moved its headquarters from China to Singapore, joining a wave of other Chinese companies that have done so to avoid getting caught in the US-China tensions.
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As Jeremy Goldman, senior director at Emarketer, told Reuters, "Scrutiny is almost guaranteed; anything with Chinese roots and 'AI' in the headline now triggers Washington's reflexes."
Analysts too have warned that the deal could fall foul of regulators at a time of fierce technological rivalry between Washington and Beijing. Little doubt then that Meta has issued a clarification on Manus' China roots. “There will be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI following the transaction, and Manus AI will discontinue its services and operations in China,” a Meta spokesperson said.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has made AI his company’s top priority, and is spending billions to hire researchers, build data centers and develop new models. Alexandr Wang, Meta’s Chief AI Officer who joined the company in May 2025 as part of a high-profile investment into his startup, ScaleAI, welcomed the Manus team of about 100 employees with a post on X. "Excited to announce that @ManusAI has joined Meta to help us build amazing AI products! The Manus team in Singapore are world class at exploring the capability overhang of today’s models to scaffold powerful agents. Looking forward to working with you, @Red_Xiao_.
" Responding to his post, Manus CEO Xiao Hong wrote, "The era of AI that doesn't just talk, but acts, creates, and delivers, is only beginning." He added, "And now (with Meta), we get to build it at a scale we never could have imagined."In his own message on the platform, Manus’ Xiao said that the deal would help his company expand the reach of its agents. “The era of AI that doesn’t just talk, but acts, creates, and delivers, is only beginning,” he wrote. “And now, we get to build it at a scale we never could have imagined.”