Meta Acquires Swedish AI Startup To Boost Automated Business Messaging 09/10/2026

Meta has acquired Stilla.ai, a Swedish artificial intelligence startup founded in 2024 that previously raised five million dollars in pre-seed funding. Through this acquisition, Meta plans to integrate the startup's team and technology to accelerate its agentic business offerings and expand its influence in Sweden.

The purchase supports Meta's ongoing development of its Business Agent, which launched in June and allows brands to automate customer responses across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. More than one million businesses currently use the tool. This agentic system is part of Meta's broader strategy to diversify its revenue away from traditional advertising by selling tiered Meta One subscription plans to businesses and creators.

CEO Mark Zuckerberg envisions that advanced AI agents will eventually help merchants run their entire operations. However, developing these systems requires massive investments, leading to a ninety-one percent year-over-year drop in free cash flow in Meta's second-quarter earnings for 2026. As competition heats up with rivals like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, Meta is pushing to capture merchant adoption and drive customer conversions within its messaging ecosystem.