Tech

Meta Buys Chinese AI Startup Manus for $2 Billion and Joins the AI Agent Race

Meta just bought Manus. A Chinese startup that made waves in early 2025 with what people called the first practical AI agent. The deal is over $2 billion, around 280 billion yen. This is Meta saying it wants to be in the game for real. AI agents are not about answering questions anymore. They do work. They act. They handle tasks without humans telling them every step. Manus started in March 2025. Funded by Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology. It shocked the industry. Its AI could do complex tasks on its own. Not like ChatGPT where you have to give prompts all the time. By June, Manus moved from Beijing to Singapore. The reason was to get around US export limits on GPUs. That shows how smart and fast this company…