Meta’s $2B Manus Buy Signals a Strategic Shift into Autonomous AI Agents

Meta Platforms has made one of its boldest moves yet in the artificial intelligence space by acquiring Singapore-based startup Manus for more than $2 billion. The deal marks a clear pivot away from simply building large language models toward deploying AI agents that can autonomously execute complex tasks for users and businesses, not just respond to basic prompts. 

Unlike typical chatbots, Manus’ AI agents can perform sophisticated workflows including long-term research, planning, analytics and even coding. These capabilities go beyond text generation to actual execution, making them far more useful for real-world applications.

Meta plans to integrate Manus’ technology directly into Meta AI and its enterprise offerings, expanding how users interact with AI across its platforms. The company will continue operating the Manus service while weaving its agent tech into Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and other products.

This will bring goal-oriented AI into everyday digital experiences.

The acquisition also highlights Manus’ commercial traction: prior to the buyout, the startup had already developed a strong user base and notable revenue performance, demonstrating both technical prowess and market demand.

This move positions Meta in direct competition with Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT, both of which are incorporating autonomous agent features into their AI roadmaps. 

As Meta shifts toward agentic AI, it signals a broader industry trend: the next phase of artificial intelligence will be less about static models and more about intelligent systems that do work on behalf of users.