Meta has acquired Swedish artificial intelligence startup Stilla.ai as part of a strategic effort to accelerate the development of its Meta Business Agent platform. The acquisition reflects the technology giant's growing focus on autonomous AI agents that can manage customer interactions across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. Financial terms were not disclosed, but the deal highlights Meta's commitment to expanding agentic AI in business messaging and strengthening its position in the enterprise AI market.
Strengthening Meta Business Agent
Meta Business Agent, launched earlier this year, enables companies to respond to customers around the clock through widely used messaging applications. Meta reports that more than one million businesses already use the service on WhatsApp and Messenger, reflecting its early traction among small and medium sized companies. The platform connects business agents to systems such as Shopify and Zendesk, allowing them to act on behalf of the company in customer conversations and transactional workflows.
Stilla's Origins and Financial Backing
Stilla was founded in Stockholm in 2024 and emerged from stealth in January of this year, positioning itself as a specialist in enterprise AI agents. The startup announced a $5 million pre-seed round led by General Catalyst at that time. The round also included founders and executives from companies such as ElevenLabs, Lovable, Shopify, Legora, Synthesia, Sana Labs, and Hugging Face, indicating broad investor confidence in its approach.
Enterprise AI Capabilities
Stilla develops an intelligence layer that gathers the context of team work and allows AI agents to operate on information and tools used in daily business operations. Its services include meeting transcription, AI agents for recurring tasks, and coding support for more than one thousand business customers. By integrating this technology, Meta aims to extend autonomy within its application ecosystem and move Business Agent closer to a digital employee that can support complex business workflows.
Meta's Agentic AI Ambitions
The acquisition comes as Meta moves beyond conversational AI toward agents that can complete tasks on behalf of users. The company recently introduced Muse, an assistant that can autonomously handle activities such as sending emails and booking trips. This direction supports the evolution of Meta Business Agent from a response tool into an operational asset for companies that want continuous digital support rather than simple automated replies.
Integration and Continuity
Under the deal, Stilla's team and technology will be incorporated into Meta's operations. In a statement published on its website, Stilla indicated that it will continue serving its customers and remain a trusted agent platform for critical work. The company said joining Meta puts the scale and reach of a leading AI organization behind its mission, while preserving its commitment to reliability.
Strategic Importance for Sweden and Europe
Reports indicate that Meta plans to expand its presence in Sweden through the acquisition. Stilla's Stockholm roots could give the company a stronger foothold in the European AI talent market. The move also reflects growing competition among major technology firms to secure specialized teams that can advance enterprise AI agents and strengthen their presence outside the United States, where demand for autonomous business tools is rising.
Meta's acquisition of Stilla illustrates how large platforms are accelerating their investments in agentic AI for business messaging. The combination of Stilla's enterprise agent technology and Meta's scale could help more companies automate meaningful tasks across messaging apps. While the financial details remain private, the transaction signals a clear step toward more autonomous digital employees within Meta's ecosystem and a deeper focus on enterprise AI capabilities.