The technology giant - which is the parent company of Instagram and Facebook - has announced that it's acquiring the AI firm in order to boost the capabilities of its tech.

A Meta blog post explains: "Manus's exceptional talent will join Meta's team to deliver general-purpose agents across our consumer and business products, including Meta AI."

Manus, meanwhile, has explained that the acquisition by Meta is a validation of the firm's efforts in recent years.

Xiao Hong, the company's chief executive and one of its Chinese founders, said in a blog post: "Joining Meta allows us to build on a stronger, more sustainable foundation without changing how Manus works or how decisions are made.

"We're excited about what the future holds with Meta and Manus working together and we will continue to iterate the product and serve users that have defined Manus from the beginning."

The impending deal is thought to be work around $2 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal newspaper.

Meta has confirmed that as part of the agreement, it will continue to operate and sell Manus' AI service.