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Meta to buy Chinese-founded startup Manus to boost advanced AI

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Meta said on Monday it will acquire Chinese-founded artificial intelligence startup Manus, stepping up efforts to integrate more advanced AI capabilities across its platforms. Financial terms were not disclosed, but a source with direct knowledge of the matter said the deal values the Singapore-based firm at between $2 billion and $3 billion.

Manus did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The startup drew widespread attention earlier this year after releasing what it described as the world’s first general AI agent—software designed to make decisions and execute tasks autonomously with far less prompting than conventional chatbots such as ChatGPT or DeepSeek. The launch sparked viral discussion on X and led some commentators to label Manus “China’s next DeepSeek,” with praise from Chinese state television.

Months later, Manus moved its headquarters from China to Singapore, joining a broader wave of Chinese-founded tech firms seeking to reduce exposure to rising U.S.-China tensions. The company’s products are not available in China. Manus has claimed its AI agent outperforms OpenAI’s DeepResearch and maintains a strategic partnership with Alibaba to collaborate on AI models.

Meta said it will operate and commercialize the Manus service and integrate it into both consumer and business offerings, including Meta AI. The acquisition reflects intensifying competition among large technology companies racing to secure differentiated AI capabilities through deals and talent hires.

Earlier this year, Meta invested in Scale AI in a transaction valuing the startup at $29 billion and bringing in its CEO, Alexandr Wang. Manus, backed by parent company Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology, raised $75 million this year at a valuation of about $500 million, according to the source, confirming prior media reports. The funding round was led by Benchmark, with investors including HSG, ZhenFund and Tencent Holdings, PitchBook data showed.

CoreWeave Cuts Revenue Forecast After Data Center Delay, Shares Drop

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CoreWeave (CRWV.O), a cloud infrastructure company backed by Nvidia, trimmed its annual revenue forecast on Monday after delays at a third-party data center partner disrupted operations, overshadowing strong quarterly results driven by soaring demand for AI computing services.

Shares fell more than 6% in extended trading, after Chief Financial Officer Nitin Agrawal forecast 2025 revenue between $5.05 billion and $5.15 billion, down from a previous estimate of $5.15 billion to $5.35 billion. Analysts had expected around $5.29 billion, according to data from LSEG.

CoreWeave said the customer impacted by the delay agreed to extend the contract’s expiration date, ensuring the total deal value remains intact, though the company did not name the client.

Despite the setback, the company posted a strong September quarter, with revenue more than doubling to $1.36 billion, beating Wall Street expectations of $1.29 billion.

CoreWeave has emerged as a major infrastructure provider for AI-driven workloads, securing high-profile contracts such as a $14 billion deal with Meta Platforms and a $6.5 billion partnership with OpenAI, both of which rely on its vast GPU-powered cloud network.

Once focused on Ethereum mining, CoreWeave has successfully repurposed its powerful GPU infrastructure to fuel the global AI cloud boom. However, its rapid growth has also exposed challenges — including rising chip prices, competition for computing capacity, and high expansion costs.

The company now expects to more than double capital spending next year, investing between $12 billion and $14 billion to meet surging demand.

CoreWeave shares have more than doubled since going public earlier this year at $40 per share, giving the firm a market capitalization above $50 billion, though its operating margin slipped to 16% in Q3 from 21% a year earlier.

Underwater Cables: The Hidden Arteries of the AI Boom and Global Internet

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Deep beneath the oceans lies one of the most crucial — yet least visible — components of modern life: underwater communication cables. Nearly 95% of the world’s international data and voice traffic flows through this vast network of almost one million miles of fiber-optic lines connecting continents.

These cables carry everything from financial transactions and government communications to video calls, cloud services, and AI data transfers. As artificial intelligence grows more data-hungry, investment in subsea infrastructure is accelerating at record speed.

Between 2025 and 2027, global spending on subsea cables is expected to reach $13 billion, nearly double the investment made over the previous three years, according to TeleGeography.

“AI is increasing the need that we have for subsea infrastructure,” said Alex Aime, vice president of network investments at Meta. “Without that connectivity, you just have expensive warehouses.”

Tech giants are now the biggest investors. Meta’s Project Waterworth, a 50,000-kilometer cable linking five continents, will be the longest in the world. Amazon’s Fastnet, connecting the U.S. and Ireland, will deliver speeds equivalent to streaming 12.5 million HD movies simultaneously. Google has funded over 30 subsea systems, while Microsoft has invested in others to bolster its Azure cloud network.

But as global reliance on these cables deepens, so do concerns about security and resilience. Damaged or sabotaged cables can cut off entire nations — as seen when Tonga lost internet access after a volcanic eruption in 2022.

While most damage stems from accidents — fishing nets or dropped anchors — analysts have noted a rise in suspected sabotage near Taiwan and in the Baltic Sea, often coinciding with geopolitical tensions. In response, NATO launched “Baltic Sentry” in early 2025 to protect critical subsea infrastructure.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has also tightened rules on foreign ownership of cable systems, citing threats from China and Russia. “We’re making it difficult to connect undersea cables directly from the U.S. to adversary nations,” said FCC Chair Brendan Carr.

From the 1850 telegraph line between Dover and Calais to AI-era fiber networks, subsea cables remain the unseen lifeline of global communication — and the quiet battleground of the world’s next digital conflict.