Mark Zuckerberg has been aggressively repositioning Meta Platforms' focus and spending toward artificial intelligence, particularly to achieve "personal superintelligence" that enhances existing apps like Facebook and Instagram and, of course, boosts revenue. Put simply, the pivot to AI looks like a far better venture than Zuckerberg's absolutely horrendous bet on the metaverse.

A new Wall Street Journal report on Tuesday said that Meta is buying an AI startup with Chinese founders that conducts deep research called Manus. The move is a familiar strategy: if you cannot beat the competition, buy it. Zuckerberg has repeatedly taken this approach this year, including aggressively poaching AI talent across Silicon Valley.

People familiar with the Meta-Manus deal say the acquisition will cost upwards of $2 billion. At the same time, Manus was seeking a new round of fundraising at roughly that valuation when Meta approached with an offer.

In a statement to the Financial Times, Meta said it would "operate and sell the Manus service" while integrating its technology into its own products, such as the Meta AI chatbot.

Meta noted that Manus is one of the "leading autonomous general-purpose agents," with tools capable of performing tasks including market research, coding, and data analysis. Meta could ultimately offer this new AI agent service for as little as $20 per month.

The acquisition stands out as one of the most high-profile deals to date involving a U.S. tech giant purchasing an AI product built within Asia's AI and startup ecosystem. It highlights how AI innovation is no longer confined to Silicon Valley, but is emerging across parts of Asia. The deal also highlights a strategic shift by U.S. tech giants toward acquiring proven AI products and talent overseas, rather than relying solely on in-house development, as the race for AI agents and automation intensifies following China's DeepSeek debut earlier this year.

Manus raised $75 million in a Series B funding round led by U.S. venture firm Benchmark in April. Political scrutiny surrounding the VC firm's funding round with the China-linked startup later prompted Manus to relocate its headquarters to Singapore.

WSJ reported that Manus CEO Xiao Hong will soon report to Meta COO Javier Olivan. The startup employs about 100 staff, primarily in Singapore.

Using publicly available data from the supply chain analysis firm Sayari, Manus is owned by Singapore-registered Butterfly Effect Technology (Butterfly Effect Pte. Ltd.). The founders include Xiao Hong, often called "Red," as CEO and co-founder; Yichao "Peak" Ji as chief scientist and co-founder; and Zhang Tao as co-founder and product partner.

"In this AI wave, Chinese entrepreneurs building open-source large models or AI applications have been iterating the fastest and are highly competitive," Li Chengdong, founder of the Haitun internet think tank, told the FT. He added, "An incredible company and team are being sold to the United States. If China does not value talent and entrepreneurs and does not respect the basic rules of capital, it will ultimately be very hard for the country to win the China-US tech war."