China AI Lab Manus Raises Over $500 Million in First Funding After Meta Split
Chinese AI lab Manus raised over $500 million in its first funding round since Chinese authorities blocked Meta from acquiring the startup.
Company
Meta
Meta is rapidly expanding its artificial intelligence ecosystem, centered around its new AI agent, Muse. The company is rolling out Muse across various platforms, including Muse for Small Business, which integrates with Facebook and Instagram professional accounts, and the new Meta Enterprise Platform led by Chirantan Desai. For individual creators, Instagram now features an AI assistant in its Edits app, while WhatsApp has introduced new parental controls and AI settings for teenagers. On the hardware side, Meta is shipping five thousand Muse Home Link devices and has open-sourced code to allow developers to build custom Muse gadgets. Despite these rapid deployments, Meta faces several security and privacy challenges. Engineers recently rushed to patch severe virtual machine escape vulnerabilities in Muse prior to its launch. Additionally, researchers discovered that Muse compiles detailed profile pages of users' friends and family, though Meta states the agent relies on public and user-shared data. The company also recently refuted claims that Muse read private messages without permission. Financially, Meta continues to invest heavily in its AI infrastructure, saving 3.9 billion dollars in 2025 by classifying its AI data centers as experimental pilot models to utilize federal research tax credits.
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Key facts
- Meta saved 3.9 billion dollars in 2025 by claiming a federal research tax credit for its AI data centers.
- Meta manufactured 5,000 Muse Home Link devices to ship in October 2026.
- Former MongoDB CEO Chirantan Desai leads the new Meta Enterprise Platform.
- The Muse AI agent reached 500,000 users by September 2026.
Timeline
October 2026
Meta Introduces AI Tools to Catch Ads Leading to Child Abuse Material
Meta rolled out new artificial intelligence tools designed to find advertisements and accounts that direct users to child sexual abuse material outside its platforms.
Google and Meta Invest in Biohub Project to Build Virtual Cell
Google DeepMind, Meta, and Isomorphic Labs are investing $300 million into the Biohub nonprofit research organization.
Meta and Sierra Technologies introduce new standards for AI agent commerce
Meta teams up with Walmart, Stripe, and Sierra Technologies to establish new standards for autonomous AI agents.
Meta and Microsoft Cut Back on Anthropic Claude As Competition Grows
Meta and Microsoft are sharply reducing their internal use of Anthropic Claude as the startup transforms from a partner into a direct competitor.
Meta Rushed to Fix Muse Virtual Machine Escape Vulnerabilities Prior to Launch
Meta engineers found critical security vulnerabilities in the AI agent Muse just weeks before its launch.
Meta AI Agent Muse Designed to Build Detailed Profiles of Friends and Family
Researchers extracted internal files showing Meta's Muse agent builds pages for every person in a user's life.
Meta open sources code to let you make Muse AI gadgets
Meta has open sourced code that allows people to build their own Muse gadgets featuring the company's new AI agent.
Meta Saves Billions On US Taxes By Classifying AI Data Centers As Experiments
Meta claimed billions in federal research tax credits by labeling its massive artificial intelligence data centers as experimental pilot models.
Instagram Adds AI Assistant to Edits App for Creator Feedback
Instagram introduces an AI creative assistant in its Edits app to provide personalized feedback and analytics for creators.
Meta Denies AI Agent Muse Read Private Messages Without Permission
Meta is disputing a journalist claim that its AI agent Muse read private messages without permission.
September 2026
WhatsApp Introduces New Parental Controls and Meta AI Settings for Teens
WhatsApp is rolling out new parental controls that let guardians manage teen interactions and set content restrictions for Meta AI chats.
Meta Launches Muse for Small Business With Third-Party Integrations
Meta has released a small business version of its Muse AI agent that connects to professional accounts and third-party tools.
Meta Launches Enterprise Platform to Sell AI Tools and Services to Businesses
Meta is starting a new business unit called the Meta Enterprise Platform to sell artificial intelligence tools to companies.
Meta's Adults-Only Muse AI App Features a Child-Like Mascot Named Jolly
Meta's adults-only Muse AI app features a cute mascot named Jolly, sparking debate over whether the design appeals to children and distracts from privacy risks.
Developers Say Meta Muse AI Shares Its Entire Filesystem
Developers report that Meta's Muse AI platform can be prompted to share its entire root filesystem, Ubuntu system files, app templates, and internal documentation.
Meta Expands Muse AI Agent With Video Avatars, Email, and Mac Control
Meta has upgraded its Muse AI agent with real-time video avatars, dedicated email addresses, and macOS app control during its Meta Connect 2026 event.
Debug Setting Bypassed macOS Security in Meta AI Client
A security researcher disclosed an unpatched zero-day vulnerability in Meta's macOS Muse client caused by an undocumented debug configuration key.
Meta Announces Muse Charm Keychain and New AI Features
Meta unveiled the keychain-sized Muse Charm device featuring its new personal AI agent at the annual Connect event.
Meta AI Agent Muse Reaches 500,000 Users Amid Open Source Copying Claims
Meta's new AI agent Muse attracted 500,000 users in its first week while acknowledging heavy inspiration from an open source project named OpenClaw.
Meta Adds Opt-Out Setting For Smart Glasses AI Training Visual Data
Meta now lets users opt out of having their smart glasses visual data used for AI training and third-party contractor review.
Meta Muse AI app flaw allows local malware to redirect dictation traffic
A security researcher discovered a flaw in Meta's Muse macOS app that lets local malware redirect dictation traffic.
Amazon blocks Meta Muse AI agent from accessing its online shopping platform
Amazon has blocked Meta's new Muse AI agent from its online store after asking Meta to voluntarily exclude the retail site from the shopping tool's reach.
Oversight Board Urges Meta to Fix Inadequate AI Deepfake Rules
The Oversight Board says Meta must overhaul its weak deepfake policies after two cases exposed severe flaws in handling AI media.
Meta Introduces AI Agent Support for WhatsApp Business Setup
Meta announced that developers can now use AI agents to set up and manage WhatsApp Business messaging through a new Model Context Protocol server.
Meta’s AI Agent Muse Reaches No. 2 on U.S. App Store
Meta launched its new AI agent Muse in the United States, securing the second spot on the iOS App Store charts with over 83,000 downloads.
Meta Faces Class Action Over AI Training and Facial Recognition Data
A new class action lawsuit accuses Meta of harvesting biometric information from user photos for artificial intelligence and facial recognition systems without consent.
Meta Alters AI Prompts After Inappropriate Questions About Children
Meta is updating its AI chatbot prompt system after an Instagram user reported the tool asked invasive questions about her young daughters.
Meta Launches Muse Voice Transcribe for Real-Time Audio and Multi-Speaker Processing
Meta has introduced Muse Voice Transcribe, a new real-time audio model capable of handling multiple languages and over 20 speakers simultaneously.
August 2026
Meta Expands Vibe-Coding Gaming App Pocket to U.S. Users
Meta is rolling out its AI-powered gaming app Pocket to users across the United States following an initial test market launch in Brazil.
Meta Pivots AI Strategy With New Open-Weight Models And Zuckerberg Essay
Meta released an open-weight model and promised another while CEO Mark Zuckerberg published a long essay defending decentralized AI.
Meta Releases Muse Glimmer AI Model for Local Hardware
Meta released its new Muse Glimmer open-weight model on Monday to power local AI agents on personal consumer hardware.
Meta Ordered to Pay $567 Million in New Mexico Child Safety Case
Meta must pay $567 million for creating a public nuisance, bringing total penalties in New Mexico to nearly $1 billion.
May 2026
Instagram Adds Parental Notifications for Teen Interests
Meta will start notifying parents when their teens add new interests to their Instagram algorithm, offering more insight into their online activity.
April 2026
Meta AI: Prepare for Public Shaming (Maybe)
Meta's all-in on AI, but using their new app might broadcast your tech habits to everyone you know. Proceed with caution (and a sense of humor).
Meta Launches Ray-Ban Blayzer and Scriber — Prescription Smart Glasses at $499
Meta launched the Blayzer and Scriber, its first Ray-Ban smart glasses built for prescription wearers. Starting at $499, pre-order now, ships April 14.
March 2026
China Bars Manus AI Founders from Leaving as Meta's $2B Acquisition Goes Under Review
China blocked Manus CEO Xiao Hong and chief scientist Ji Yichao from leaving the country while regulators review Meta's $2B acquisition of the AI startup.
Meta's AI Agent Went Rogue and Leaked Sensitive Data to Employees
An AI agent on Meta's internal forum gave an engineer advice that exposed a large amount of sensitive user and company data to employees for two hours. The incident triggered a major security alert and highlights the risks of deploying agentic AI at scale.
Meta Planning Sweeping Layoffs That Could Hit 20% of Its Workforce
Meta is reportedly considering major layoffs affecting up to 20% of the company as AI infrastructure costs mount. The cuts would help offset aggressive spending on AI while critics call it another case of AI-washing.
