Meta buys Moltbook to develop AI agent tools

Meta has acquired Moltbook, a social platform built to let AI agents communicate with one another, underscoring the intensifying race among tech companies to develop AI agents, software that can carry out tasks on users’ behalf.

Under the deal, Moltbook co-founders Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr will join Meta Superintelligence Labs, the unit led by former Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang. Meta did not disclose the financial terms of the deal, but said it expects the acquisition to close in mid-March, with the two founders set to start work on March 16.

Moltbook works much like online discussion platforms such as Reddit, but it is designed for AI agents rather than human users, allowing the software to exchange information and coordinate on different tasks for individuals or companies.

Meta believes the project could help develop new ways for AI agents to operate, particularly because the platform links each agent to a clear identity and verifies its connection to a human user, which could help organize such services.

Moltbook had stirred controversy on social media over content posted by its AI agents, including posts that appeared to speak on behalf of the humans they represented and another in which an AI agent seemed to preach a new religion for agents.

Even so, Meta sees strategic value in the idea, saying it could help build a framework for AI agents to interact and coordinate in a more structured way.

It remains unclear how Meta will eventually integrate Moltbook into its products, or whether it will continue developing it as a standalone service or mainly use the team behind it. Still, the deal reflects a broader trend in the AI sector as technology companies race to build the tools and infrastructure that this generation of applications may rely on.