Meta Acquires AI Company Manus Worth Rp33.5 Trillion

JAKARTA - Meta, the company that oversees Instagram and Facebook, acquired a startup called Manus. The Singapore-based Artificial Intelligence (AI) company is reportedly on the rise because of its technology.

Launching from TechCrunch, the deal between Meta and Manus is worth around 2 billion US dollars (Rp33.5 trillion). Meta acquired this company after Manus produced technology with performance that was able to compete with OpenAI's artificial intelligence.

Manus has been the subject of discussion in Silicon Valley because their AI agent demo video went viral. This technology is claimed to be able to handle complex tasks such as screening job candidates to automatically analyze a stock portfolio.

Prior to its acquisition, Manus had received large injections of funds from well-known investors such as Benchmark, Tencent, and ZhenFund. The company managed to achieve a high valuation in a short time after its first launch this spring.

Although its AI platform is still in the testing phase, Manus is reported to have amassed millions of users from around the world. Manus has also recorded annual recurring revenue that exceeds the figure of 100 million US dollars (Rp. 1.6 trillion).

For Mark Zuckerberg, this acquisition is a strategic move to prove that Meta's AI investment can generate real profits. This step also answers investor concerns about the size of the infrastructure costs that the company has incurred.

Meta plans to continue running Manus as an independently operating business unit. However, Manus' smart agent technology will soon be integrated into the Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp ecosystems.

This integration is expected to strengthen Meta AI's chatbot features that are already available to billions of users today. The presence of a more functional AI agent will provide a new experience in planning a vacation or managing daily tasks.