The deal arrives as Meta accelerates its AI investments to compete with Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI — and as the industry’s focus shifts from conversational demos to systems that can reliably produce artifacts, complete workflows, and operate with minimal supervision.

Giant tech companies are closing the year with a flurry of deals as they position for further advances in artificial intelligence.

Meta's acquisition of AI agent Manus spotlights potential automation across various roles, from analysts to virtual assistants.