Meta's acquisition of Manus AI could be worth up to $2.5 billion.

Meta's acquisition of AI app Manus AI is valued at approximately $2.5 billion, including retention incentives for key employees. Reports indicate that Manus AI completed a $75 million Series B funding round led by Benchmark in May, valuing the company at approximately $500 million at the time. This acquisition is seen as another example of the rapid revaluation of exit points in the AI ​​industry, driven primarily by the high revenue growth achieved by related products in a short period. Public information shows that Manus AI focuses on general-purpose AI agents capable of performing various real-world tasks such as market research, coding, data analysis, and resume screening, positioning itself beyond traditional chatbots or workflow tools. The company provides services to enterprise clients on a subscription basis and claims to have achieved over $100 million in annual recurring revenue within months of product launch. This transaction has also sparked some controversy. While Manus AI's early team had ties to China, the company is headquartered in Singapore, and its approximately 100 Chinese employees have subsequently relocated. Axios points out that this marks Meta's first significant foray into the enterprise-grade AI agent field, potentially helping it narrow the gap with Salesforce, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI. However, the market is also concerned about Meta's past controversies regarding data compliance and privacy; whether enterprise customers will be willing to use it as a core AI service provider remains to be seen. (Axios)