CHENNAI: Meta Platforms on Tuesday announced that it has acquired Manus, a Singapore-based developer of general-purpose artificial intelligence agents, underscoring the social media giant’s continued push to scale up its AI capabilities amid intensifying competition in the sector.
While Meta did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, the acquisition signals a strategic move to strengthen its in-house expertise in autonomous AI systems that can perform a wide range of tasks across applications. Manus is known for building AI agents designed to reason, plan and execute complex workflows, positioning them as foundational tools for enterprise and consumer use cases.
The acquisition comes as Meta sharply ramps up spending on artificial intelligence across its businesses, including social media, advertising, virtual reality and next-generation computing platforms. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly highlighted AI as a central pillar of Meta’s long-term growth strategy, with the company investing heavily in large language models, data centres and custom AI chips.
Manus, founded in Singapore, has focused on developing general-purpose agents capable of operating across different environments rather than being limited to narrow, task-specific functions. Meta is expected to integrate Manus’s technology and engineering talent into its broader AI research and product teams, potentially enhancing offerings ranging from AI assistants to developer tools and business automation.
The deal also reflects a broader trend of major technology companies acquiring smaller, specialised AI startups to accelerate development and secure scarce talent. As competition intensifies among global tech giants to dominate the AI landscape, acquisitions such as this allow companies to shorten development timelines while expanding their technological depth.
Meta said the acquisition aligns with its goal of building more advanced, useful and responsible AI systems. Further details on how Manus’s technology will be deployed within Meta’s product ecosystem are expected to emerge in the coming months.