Distrust Over Meta Manus Acquisition: Enterprise Customers Flee Over Data Privacy

Meta's reported $2 billion bet on AI agent startup Manus is hitting a wall of skepticism. Since the acquisition at the end of 2025, high-profile enterprise customers have begun jumping ship, citing long-standing fears over how the social media giant handles personal data. It's a clear signal that technical prowess isn't enough to win the cutthroat enterprise AI market—trust is the real currency.

Meta Manus Acquisition Backlash: The 'Weaponization' of Data

Seth Dobrin, CEO of Arya Labs, told CNBC that he's no longer using Manus under its new ownership. Despite Manus' history of transparent service terms, Dobrin expressed a lack of confidence in Meta, stating he doesn't want to engage with a company that "essentially weaponizes people's personal data against them." This sentiment is echoed by Karl Yeh of 0260.AI, who has stopped recommending the platform to his startup clients.

A Fragmented Enterprise Roadmap

Unlike competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic, who have established trust in regulated sectors, Meta struggles with its identity in the enterprise space. While WhatsApp for Business is a success story—projected to hit $40 billion in revenue by 2030—the company has previously shuttered products like Workplace and Workrooms. The acquisition of Manus was intended to scale AI innovation, but without a clear data wall, the service risks becoming another failed venture in the corporate world.