Meta Platforms, Inc. (META) stock is trading up $7.24 (+1.10%) to $665.93 as of 9:41 AM EST on Dec 30, 2025. The jump follows the company's announcement that it will acquire Manas, a Singapore-based artificial intelligence startup with Chinese roots, in a deal worth more than $2 billion. The acquisition marks Meta's latest strategic move to accelerate AI integration across its platforms and build a subscription-based business around large-scale AI investments.
The deal, which closed in about 10 days, is an unusual U.S. acquisition of a Chinese tech company and underscores CEO Mark Zuckerberg's commitment to making AI a top priority for the company.
Expanding Meta’s AI Capabilities with Over $2 Billion in Manas Transactions
Meta has announced that it will acquire Manas, which was previously touted as “China's next Deep Seek,” in a deal worth between $2 billion and $3 billion, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. The Singapore-based startup rose to fame earlier this year after releasing what it claims is the world's first general-purpose AI agent that can autonomously make decisions and perform tasks with significantly fewer prompts than traditional AI chatbots.
Manus generates $125 million in annual revenue by selling its AI agents to enterprises via subscription, potentially allowing Meta to get a more immediate return on its AI spending.
The acquisition will bring approximately 100 Manus staff members to Meta, including co-founder and CEO Xiao Hong, who will report to Meta's chief operating officer, Javier Oliván. Meta plans to continue operating and selling the Manus service while integrating it into its consumer and business products, including Meta AI.
In this acquisition, all existing Chinese investors including Tencent Holdings, Genfund, and HSG (formerly Sequoia Capital China) were acquired. Mehta stressed that after the transaction, there will be no continued Chinese ownership and Manas will discontinue all services and operations in China.
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META stock trades higher as investors value AI trading
Meta stock has been performing well, with a market capitalization of $1.68 trillion at market launch. Over the past year, META has returned +13.17%, slightly lagging the S&P 500's +16.85% return over the same period. The company's year-to-date return is +14.28%.
With a forward P/E ratio of 21.98 and a profit margin of 30.89%, Meta Inc. shows solid financial fundamentals. Analysts maintain a bullish outlook with an average price target of $837.15, suggesting significant upside potential from current levels.
Mr. Manas' acquisition is in line with Mr. Zuckerberg's pledge to spend $600 billion on U.S. infrastructure projects over the next three years, many of which are expected to be AI-related. The company is actively hiring researchers to develop new cutting-edge AI models, scheduled to debut in spring 2026.
While some investors have expressed skepticism about whether significant investments in AI will quickly translate into meaningful returns, the Manas acquisition provides a concrete path to monetization through its existing subscription business and enterprise customers. The deal could come under regulatory scrutiny given Manus' Chinese background, but the company relocated to Singapore to reduce risks from geopolitical tensions in China and America.
Disclaimer: The author does not own or hold any securities discussed in the article. All stock prices are accurate at the time of writing.
About the author
Tim Freese is the co-founder of Tokenist. He has a bachelor's degree. He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim is a senior associate on the investment team in RW Baird's US private equity practice and co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.
