Tech giant Meta has announced it will buy artificial intelligence startup Manus in a rare crossover of US and Chinese technology amid Washington and Beijing's heated tech rivalry. Meta said the acquisition would see it take over the operation of Manus's self-directing AI agent and integrate the technology into its own products. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, said the deal would bring one of the "leading autonomous general-purpose agents" to billions of people worldwide. "Manus's exceptional talent will join Meta's team to deliver general-purpose agents across our consumer and business products, including in Meta AI," the California-based firm said in a statement on Monday. "We're excited to welcome the Manus team and help improve the lives of billions of people and millions of businesses with their technology."