Meta buys Stilla to expand AI commerce agents

Meta is adding another startup to its push to make AI agents part of the commerce infrastructure inside messaging apps.

What happened

Meta agreed to acquire Swedish AI startup Stilla.ai, bringing its team and technology into work on Business Agent across WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram. Stilla was founded in 2024 and had previously raised $5 million in pre-seed funding. Financial terms were not disclosed, and closing remains pending.

Why it matters

Meta already controls enormous messaging distribution. Better business agents could turn conversations into a more automated layer for customer service, product discovery and eventually transactions without requiring users to leave its apps.

The bigger picture

AI agents are becoming a distribution battle. Companies with large existing consumer networks can embed agents directly where users already communicate, potentially giving them an advantage over standalone agent startups that must acquire users from scratch.