Daily AI Agent News - Last 7 Days

Meta Snaps Up AI Agent Startup Manus for $2B

Meta has acquired Manus, a Singapore-based AI agent developer, for over $2 billion, signaling the future of enterprise AI. The deal wrapped in just 10 days, making it Meta's aggressive move to dominate AI infrastructure after investing $14.3 billion in Scale AI earlier this year.

Why this matters: Manus hit $100 million in annualized revenue just eight months after launch, proving AI agents aren't just hype—they're profitable. The platform handles real tasks: resume screening, trip planning, stock analysis. This acquisition shows where competitive advantage now lies: not just building models, but turning them into products people actually pay for.

Evermind AI Launches EverMemOS for Long-Term AI Memory

A new player emerged with EverMemOS, solving a critical AI problem: memory. Current AI systems forget everything between conversations. EverMemOS gives AI agents persistent memory that adapts over time.

Practical impact: The system hit 92.3% accuracy on long-term memory tests, significantly outperforming existing solutions. This unlocks AI agents that learn from past interactions—essential for customer service, research, and complex problem-solving.

Takeaway: AI agents just moved from experimental to production-ready. Staying competitive means adopting these tools now.

AI Agents Hit Critical Milestones as Industry Faces Security Reality Check

Microsoft launched Project Strong ARMed, an AI agent system that automatically converts x64 codebases to Arm64 on Windows—eliminating manual code conversion work. This signals AI agents are moving beyond chat into real technical automation.

AI agent market projections surged, with analysts forecasting a $1 trillion economic boost by 2030 as agents take over IT remediation, supply chain management, and customer service. However, growth shows signs of maturing—expect only 25-36% annual growth in 2026, down from 60%+ in 2024-2025.

OpenAI's vulnerability admission: CEO Sam Altman announced the company is hiring a Head of Preparedness ($555,000+ salary) to address AI models "beginning to find critical vulnerabilities" in security systems. This follows reports of AI agents being weaponized for cyberattacks by state-sponsored hackers.

Performance reality check: A new spatial reasoning benchmark reveals even advanced AI models hit hard limits on complex problem-solving tasks, showing substantial gaps between closed-source and open-weight systems.

Bottom line for developers: AI agents are production-ready for routine work, but security protocols are urgently needed before deployment at scale.

OpenAI Admits AI Agents Are "Becoming a Problem"

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman publicly acknowledged that AI agents pose mounting challenges, revealing his company is recruiting a Head of Preparedness (paying $555,000 plus equity) to address critical issues. The role focuses on cybersecurity threats and mental health impacts. Altman warned that AI models "are beginning to find critical vulnerabilities" in computer security systems, with AI agents now capable of discovering zero-day exploits autonomously.

China's AI Agents Transform Manufacturing

Huawei and JAC Group deployed AI-enabled robots in their Hefei super factory, achieving precision dual-tone painting that took six months of AI model refinement. Across China, "dark factories" operate with minimal human oversight—Yongsheng Rubber Group now has 95% of core equipment under numerical control. China installed over half the world's industrial robots in 2024, positioning its core AI industry to exceed 1.2 trillion yuan in 2025.

AI Agents Shift Global Competition

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani declared AI "a contest for global domination," emphasizing countries need sovereign AI models. This reflects growing recognition that AI agents—not just chatbots—are reshaping competitive advantage across manufacturing, cybersecurity, and national infrastructure worldwide.

South Korea's AI Game-Changer: What You Need to Know

SK Telecom just launched A.X K1, Korea's first massive AI model with 519 billion parameters. Here's why it matters to you:

What makes it different: Unlike other AI models, A.X K1 acts like a "teacher" that can train smaller AI systems. When you use it, only 33 billion parameters activate—meaning it runs fast and doesn't waste power.

You can use it now: The model connects to A-DoT, a service already used by 10+ million people. You'll access it through phone calls, texts, websites, and apps. Think of it as democratizing AI for everyone in Korea.

Real-world impact: This enables AI agents—systems that complete tasks on their own, like writing emails or creating documents without asking you for every detail. This is the future of work.

Career heads-up: Entry-level job postings fell 15% this year while competition increased. If you're entering the job market, focus on companies under 250 employees that need help deploying AI agents.

Bottom line: Major AI infrastructure is now accessible to ordinary users. AI agents are becoming real. Smaller companies need people who understand this technology.

AI Agents Making Real Impact This Week

PaXini is advancing embodied AI with tactile sensing technology, debuting at CES 2026 to give robots better touch and feel capabilities—crucial for tasks requiring precision handling.

Google released Gemini 3 Flash, a faster, cheaper AI model that matches professional-level performance while cutting costs significantly. It's ready for real-world applications like customer service agents and coding assistance.

Agentic AI transformed from experiment to essential tool in 2025. Companies now deploy AI agents that work autonomously—handling customer questions, processing data, and solving problems without constant human oversight. The key shift: organizations moved from asking "How fast can we adopt AI?" to "How do we do this securely?"

Coding agents got smarter. Claude Code, Google Gemini CLI, and OpenAI tools now handle complex development tasks beyond simple code suggestions. By year-end, major companies reported these agents automating work previously done by senior engineers.

Practical takeaway: If you're not exploring AI agents for automation in your workflow—customer service, software development, or data processing—you're falling behind. These aren't experimental anymore; they're delivering measurable business value right now.

AI Agents Win Major Recognition in Japan

Shippio Inc. just won the Japan Generative AI Award 2025 for its practical AI agents approach. The company automates 70-90% of routine trade tasks using a "Multi-Layer AI Agent Concept" where command-and-control AI works with specialized agents. This matters: it proves AI agents can handle real business operations, not just experiments.

Alibaba's Game-Changing Move

DingTalk launched Agent OS, an operating system built specifically for AI agents in workplaces. Companies can now build, manage, and coordinate multiple agents on one secure platform. Early demos show agents creating production schedules from order photos and generating full travel plans in under one minute while cutting costs 15%.

Why This Matters Now

These developments show AI agents are shifting from concept to business reality. Companies using agents aren't hiring—LTIMindtree added $60 million in revenue without new hires using 1,500 deployed agents. The pattern is clear: agents become your workforce. If you're not exploring AI agents for routine operations, your competitors are getting ahead.

AI Agents Hit a Reality Check in 2025

The big push toward agentic AI—software that acts on its own instead of just answering questions—dominated this year. But here's what matters: a Carnegie Mellon University study shows agents fail 70% of the time. This is critical if your company is counting on them.

What's Actually Working

UiPath launched Maestro, a new tool that manages multiple AI agents from different companies, perfect for businesses deploying dozens of agents. Coforge released EvolveOps.AI with 28 specialized agents for IT operations, delivering real cost savings.

Hardware You Should Know About

The UCIe 3.0 standard (approved August 2025) is finally letting companies mix chips from different makers. NVIDIA's Blackwell chips continue powering the AI boom, with TSMC hitting 80,000 wafers monthly by now.

The Bottom Line

AI agents are moving from "someday technology" to real workplace tools—but only when properly governed and managed. If you're evaluating agents for your business, focus on orchestration platforms like UiPath Maestro that can oversee multiple systems and reduce failure rates.