"Mark Zuckerberg has struck again. Meta Platforms is acquiring Manus, a Singapore-based AI startup that's become the talk of Silicon Valley since it materialized this spring with a demo video so slick it went instantly viral. The clip showed an AI agent that could do things like screen job candidates, plan vacations, and analyze stock portfolios. Manus claimed at the time that it outperformed OpenAI's Deep Research."
"Though Bloomberg raised questions when Manus started charging $39 or $199 a month for access to its AI models (the outlet noted the pricing seemed "somewhat aggressive . . . for a membership service still in a testing phase," ) the company recently announced it had since signed up millions of users and crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue."
"For Zuckerberg, who has staked Meta's future on AI, Manus represents something new: an AI product that's actually making money (investors have grown increasingly twitchy about Meta's $60 billion infrastructure spending spree)."
Meta Platforms is acquiring Manus, a Singapore-based AI startup known for a viral demo of an AI agent that screens candidates, plans vacations, and analyzes portfolios. Manus raised $75 million in April at a $500 million valuation with investors including Benchmark, Tencent, ZhenFund, and HSG. Manus began charging subscription fees and reports millions of users and over $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Meta is paying $2 billion and will keep Manus operating independently while integrating its agents into Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Manus's founders previously formed Butterfly Effect in Beijing, prompting potential regulatory scrutiny in Washington.
Read at TechCrunch
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