According to The Wall Street Journal, Meta has paid over $2 billion to purchase Manus, an AI business that is well-known for its specialised research and website-building agents.

Manus entered the market in March 2025, not long after DeepSeek, another Chinese AI firm. At initially, the company (then known as Butterfly Effect) referred to it as “the first general AI agent” that could carry out intricate tasks on its own instead of merely coming up with concepts.

Certain operations, such as market research, coding, sales data analysis, and website construction and cloning, can be automated with Manus. Manus, according to the company, is “already serving the daily needs of millions of users and businesses” and, just eight months after inception, has generated an annualised average income of over $100 million.

When Meta approached the company, it was apparently looking for a $2 billion fundraising round. “Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made,” stated Xiao Hong, CEO of Manus, in a press release.