New Delhi, Dec. 30 -- When Meta confirmed it was acquiring Singapore-based AI startup Manus, the announcement landed less as a surprise and more as a signal. After years of pouring billions into artificial intelligence infrastructure, Meta appears to be shifting its focus from building intelligence to operationalising it.

Manus does not build another large language model. Instead, it positions itself as an execution layer, an autonomous AI agent designed to carry out end-to-end work across research, automation, and complex business tasks. For Meta, that distinction matters.

As pressure mounts to justify the scale of its AI spend, the Manus deal offers something increasingly scarce in the AI market: a product that already sells, already ...