Meta Platforms has acquired Moltbook, a niche social networking platform built specifically for artificial intelligence agents, as the technology giant intensifies its push into advanced AI systems and talent, according to Reuters. The acquisition brings Moltbook’s co-founders, Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr, into Meta’s AI research division, known as Meta Superintelligence Labs. The unit is led by Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI, and focuses on advancing next-generation AI capabilities and autonomous systems.
Moltbook launched in late January as an experimental platform where AI-powered bots could interact with each other, exchanging code, sharing updates and even gossiping about their human operators. The site, which resembled a Reddit-style forum, quickly drew attention as a demonstration of how AI agents might communicate and collaborate autonomously.
The rapid rise of the platform has also sparked debate across the technology industry about the growing autonomy of AI systems and how close they may be to exhibiting human-like behavior.
Meta’s move underscores the intensifying race among major technology companies to secure both AI talent and experimental technologies as autonomous agents evolve from novelty projects into practical tools capable of performing real-world tasks.
Schlicht has promoted the concept of “vibe coding,” or building software with the assistance of AI tools. He previously said that he did not personally write a line of code for Moltbook, instead relying heavily on an AI assistant named Clawd Clawderberg to build much of the platform.
Despite its experimental nature, Moltbook’s rapid popularity also exposed security risks. Cybersecurity firm Wiz previously reported a major flaw in the platform that exposed private messages, more than 6,000 email addresses and over one million credentials. The vulnerability was later fixed after the firm notified the developers.
The acquisition signals Meta’s continued effort to strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, particularly as industry leaders race to build and deploy AI agents capable of performing increasingly complex tasks across software and real-world environments.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
