Meta pushes on the accelerator of theartificial intelligence, but it doesn't always find a clear path. On the one hand, the group led by Mark Zuckerberg carries out one of the most ambitious operations in its recent history, acquiring the start-up from Singapore Manus, considered by many to be the next “Chinese DeepSeek”. On the other hand, in Italy theAntitrust puts a brake on Meta on WhatsApp, blocking clauses that would have excluded competing AI chatbots from the platform.
Two different stories, but linked by a common thread: the battle for control of generative AI, its distribution channels, and, above all, user access.
Meta Acquires Manus, a Strategic Operation in Advanced AI
Meta has decided to strengthen its strategy on advanced AI by acquiring Manus, a start-up founded in China and then moved to Singapore, backed by heavyweight investors such as Tencent, ZhenFund, HSGMore and, more recently, from the American fund BenchmarkThe official price has not been disclosed, but according to sources close to the dossier, the operation is worth Manus over 2 billion dollars.
It's not just a matter of numbers. This is a rare acquisition of an Asian technology company by a major US tech firm, a sign that global AI competition is no longer just focusing on Silicon Valley and Europe, but increasingly on Asia.
Meta will continue to manage and sell the service Manus, gradually integrating it into its products. The team – approximately 100 people – will join the group's organization, with the CEO and co-founder Xiao Hong who will answer directly to the COO of Meta, Javier Olivan.
What is Manus and why does it interest Meta?
Manus became known in early 2025 after the launch of what it calls the first general artificial intelligence agent, designed not only to respond to user requests, but to make decisions and perform tasks autonomously with significantly fewer instructions than traditional chatbots.
In concrete terms, the Manus AI agent is capable of performing operational tasks such as analyzing resumes, creating travel itineraries, supporting basic financial decisions, and automating digital tasks without continuous supervision. It is the paradigm of AI agent, which many enterprise software companies, from Salesforce to ServiceNow, consider the real evolutionary leap compared to simple conversational artificial intelligence.
According to Manus itself, the performance of its AI agent would surpass that of DeepResearch di OpenAIAn ambitious statement, reinforced by the political and industrial support shown by Beijing and the strategic collaboration with Alibaba on artificial intelligence models.
An acquisition that can bring immediate revenue
In addition to technology, Manus brings with it an element that is very dear to investors: turnoverThe start-up has generated $125 million in revenue by selling its AI agent to companies via subscriptions.
At a time when Meta is spending colossal sums on AI, this aspect is not secondary. Zuckerberg promised up to $600 billion in infrastructure investment in the United States over the next three years, many of which will be tied to data centers and advanced models. This strategy excites engineers, but it also makes some investors nervous, worried about short-term returns.
Not surprisingly, Meta stock closed the December 29th trading session down slightly (-0,69%), despite still recording strong year-over-year growth. In pre-market trading, however, it posted a slight increase.
WhatsApp and AI Chatbots: Italian Antitrust Authority Puts a Stop on Meta
As Meta expands its AI empire globally, a different signal is coming from Italy. In recent days,Competition and Market Authority indeed suspended as a precautionary measure new WhatsApp Business conditions, which they would have prevented ai AI chatbots competing to operate on the platform.
According to the Antitrust Authority, the new clauses – particularly those on “AI Providers” – risked excluding alternative operators from the market, effectively leaving Meta AI as the only generalist assistant integrated into WhatsApp.
The measure doesn't yet have a definitive wording, but it aims to prevent irreversible damage to a nascent market, where time is a crucial factor. In other words, if you shut down access to a platform with millions of users today, tomorrow you could find yourself with a market already "frozen."
