Meta has acquired Swedish AI startup Stilla.ai, Axios reported on Sept. 9.
Meta plans to use the acquisition to speed development of its "Meta Business Agent" chatbot that supports commerce on WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram, the report said.
Stilla was founded in Stockholm in 2024 and raised $5 million in pre-seed funding in January after emerging from stealth mode.
Meta has actively invested over the past decade in developing a commerce engine that connects millions of small businesses with users of its messaging apps. AI chatbots play a central role in that strategy and will support sellers in turning customer consultations into actual purchases, Axios said.
Meta said more than 1 million businesses are currently handling customer response tasks with the Meta Business Agent chatbot.
Meta plans to expand its business base in Sweden after the deal.
Chi-gyu Hwang
delight@d-today.co.kr