Meta buys AI agent Manus from Singapore-based Butterfly Effect, a deal analysts warn may face US regulatory scrutiny over Chinese origins.
SINGAPORE: Meta has agreed to acquire Manus, an artificial intelligence agent developed by the Singapore-based startup Butterfly Effect, which was originally founded in China.
The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence suggested the purchase could be worth more than $2 billion.
AI agents like Manus can autonomously perform complex tasks, exceeding the capabilities of standard chatbots. According to its website, Manus can sift through resumes or create a stock analysis website.
Meta stated the acquisition will “bring a leading agent to billions of people and unlock opportunities for businesses across our products”.
Manus chief executive Xiao Hong said on X that the era of AI that “acts, creates, and delivers, is only beginning”. He added that with Meta, “we get to build it at a scale we never could have imagined”.
The deal aligns with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s major push into AI, involving billions in spending on acquisitions, engineering talent, and data centres.
Analysts warned the transaction could attract regulatory scrutiny, particularly from US authorities, due to Manus’s Chinese founding roots amid ongoing technological rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
