Investors Rally to Repurchase Manus from Meta at $20 B – A $13.5 B Turnaround

According to reports from The Information and Bloomberg, the early investors of the general‑AI agent company Manus are negotiating to repurchase the company from Meta at the original acquisition price of $20 billion (≈¥13.5 billion).

Manus has shown strong post‑acquisition growth: its annualised revenue has risen to $400‑500 million in recent weeks, a several‑fold increase from the $100 million recorded when Meta bought the firm in December 2023.

The company generates revenue by selling subscription access to its AI‑agent tools, with plans ranging from $20 to $200 per month per user. The surge in sales is attributed to Meta’s integration of Manus into its internal systems and advertising platform after the December acquisition.

Following the acquisition, Meta split the two businesses internally and halted data sharing between them, as reported by Bloomberg.

Manus’s AI‑agent product went viral in March 2023, quickly spreading among tech enthusiasts for its ability to browse websites and perform tasks such as travel booking and stock analysis. The popularity coincided with the global hype around the DeepSeek R1 large model, which helped raise the profile of Chinese AI technology.

Founded in April 2022, Manus announced a move to Singapore in June 2025 to pursue global expansion. At that time, only about 40 of the original 120 employees—core technical staff—relocated, while the rest were laid off and the Chinese‑language product was discontinued.

Meta’s $20 billion acquisition was the third‑largest deal in the company’s history, after WhatsApp and Scale AI, but the agreement was terminated in April 2024.

Domestic investors—including venture firms HSG, ZhenFund, Benchmark, and Tencent—are now considering using new capital to buy back the shares at the original price. Benchmark plans to exit, which could leave the remaining Chinese investors with a larger stake.

As part of the buyback agreement, Manus is exploring a restructuring to become a domestically registered joint‑venture, laying the groundwork for a potential initial public offering in Hong Kong.