Meta Adds Agents Through M&A
Chasing Competitors Like OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic
Deal Terms Undisclosed... Estimated Offer Exceeds $500 Million
Meta has acquired Manus, an artificial intelligence (AI) company dubbed the 'second DeepSeek', to compete with Google, OpenAI, and others in the AI race.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 29th (local time), Meta stated, "We plan to operate and sell Manus services while integrating Manus technology into Meta products such as our AI chatbot." The terms of the deal were not disclosed. However, considering that Manus was valued at 500 million dollars (approximately 700 billion won) in April, it is estimated that Meta offered a higher price.
Meta described Manus as "a leading developer of autonomous general-purpose agents capable of independently performing complex tasks such as market research, coding, and data analysis," and announced plans to continue operating and selling Manus services while integrating them into its own products.
With the acquisition of Manus, Meta is adding agents to its AI lineup, which has so far focused mainly on chatbots. Competitors such as OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic have already released their own agents, including Operator, Project Jarvis, and Computer Use, respectively, while Meta has been considered somewhat behind in this area.
Manus launched in China last March and attracted attention by shifting the main trend of AI from chatbot-oriented models to agent-based models that independently plan and execute tasks on behalf of humans. At one point, it was called the 'second DeepSeek' and was recognized as an innovative Chinese company.
However, Manus struggled to find investors amid the US-China competition for AI technological supremacy and suffered from a lack of computing power due to semiconductor export controls. As a result, the company relocated its headquarters from China to Singapore in July. Some Chinese media even criticized Manus as a 'deserter' for moving to Singapore.
Xiaohong, CEO of Manus, said in a statement, "By joining Meta, we are able to build a stronger and more sustainable foundation without changing the way Manus operates or makes decisions."
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