The Deal That Almost Gave Meta Control Over AI Agents

This installment of Control in AI takes a look at the Meta–Manus transaction—a deal that was signed, entered into a phase of early technical exploration and alignment, but never reached the stage of full operational control. We discuss why the deal creates a new and important category in AI markets: partially realized deals. Such arrangements can impact technical direction, system design, and the nature of competition well before any formal change of control. We also link the case to broader questions around OpenAI and discuss why traditional antitrust frameworks struggle with the layered nature of AI (attention vs. execution layers) and why the central question is moving from “Is this deal a merger?” “When does the control actually begin?” This analysis is clear and practical for anyone interested in AI, antitrust, and platform power.Read the full article and graphic analysis: https://blog.econworks.com/p/control-in-ai-episode-3-meta-manus?r=562wriExplore more visual economics content: https://econworks.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@EconWorks-d3eSubstack: https://blog.econworks.com This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.econworks.com/subscribe