• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer, Yesterday

Meta Platforms’ AI power play led it to purchase a Singapore-based startup specializing in autonomous AI agents.

The deal to acquire Manus, valued at more than $2 billion, will accelerate not only the company's conversational platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp, but also its social commerce, which is headed for major growth in 2026.

"We plan to scale this service to many more businesses," Meta said in its announcement about the deal. 

Conversational platforms with direct-messaging capabilities are expected to function as primary storefronts to finalize transactions within a chat interface without humans.

Each interaction with Manus’ technology, combined with Meta’s AI tools like Advantage+, will support campaign optimization. This is just the beginning.

One example of Manus’ capabilities is vertical search AI for the fashion industry. On its website, a case study explains how its technology can process and use visual recognition, natural-language processing, and machine learning to enhance product discovery and search capabilities in fashion ecommerce.

The research identified eight merchants in retail including Lily AI, ThredUp, Syte.ai, Donde Search (now part of Shopify), Pixyle AI, Vue.ai and YesPlz.

Manus, originally founded in China and then relocated to Singapore, is not developing a standard chatbot, but specializes in action-oriented capabilities required by general artificial intelligence.

These AI agents can perform complex, multistep tasks independently such as screening resumes, building custom reports, or determining the best optimization for paid or organic ad campaigns.

Meta intends to integrate these capabilities directly into its social and business products such as Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.

These integrations will yield the usual benefits -- including creative optimization, AI-created influencers for brands, real-time targeting with real-time data, and predictive analytics, and new areas of support are possible.

These business products and Meta’s ability to offer more will give the company a foothold into productivity and enterprise markets that go beyond advertising and social media like the way Google and Microsoft built a space for their respective companies.

Michael Schneider, a venture partner and seed raiser for funding, nine months ago in a LinkedIn post called Manus a “powerhouse” and “an AI agent so advanced it instantly went viral across China.” The post doesn’t say he invested in Manus, but praised the company.

Schneider at the time called out specific tasks Manus could do, such as autonomous task execution, multi-modal capabilities, and advanced tool integration.

Welcome to commerce in 2026.