Meta has reached an exclusive agreement to acquire Butterfly Effect, a Chinese startup and developer of the AI agent Manus, for a multi-billion dollar sum. This transaction ranks as the third-largest acquisition in Meta’s history, following WhatsApp and Scale AI.
Founded in 2022 by Xiao Hong in Wuhan, the company finalized the deal in approximately ten days. Xiao will assume the role of Vice President at Meta, while the company continues independent operations. Prior to the acquisition, the startup was negotiating a new funding round at a $2 billion valuation.
Manus, capable of autonomous tool use for complex tasks, reached $100 million in Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) in mid-December. Reports indicate that ByteDance had previously offered $30 million for the team in early 2024. [LatePost, in Chinese]