Meta has bought Swedish startup Stilla.ai to strengthen its automated messaging tools for businesses. The move is part of Meta's push to find new revenue beyond advertising.
Meta is making a major push to turn automated messaging into a core part of its business, acquiring Swedish AI startup Stilla.ai as it looks to bring its AI agent technology to WhatsApp, Messenger, and Instagram. The deal comes as Meta faces growing competition from OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google, and needs to show that its heavy investment in AI can pay off.
Stilla.ai emerged from stealth mode in 2024, offering services such as meeting transcription, AI agents for repetitive tasks, and coding automation, and secured a $5 million pre-seed funding round.
Mark Zuckerberg has said he wants businesses to eventually run their "whole business" through AI agents. This is not just a technical goal-it’s a direct attempt to create new subscription revenue through "Meta One" plans, aimed at businesses and creators who want to automate customer engagement and scale up without hiring more staff.
But the financial pressure is real. In Q2 2026, Meta’s free cash flow dropped 91% year-over-year, down to $784 million from $8.55 billion, mostly due to the cost of building its AI agent infrastructure. The company’s willingness to take these losses shows how important it sees the race to lead in automated business messaging-and how urgently it needs to prove that AI agents can deliver real results. As Investing.com reports, Meta’s quarterly capital expenditures jumped to $31.1 billion, highlighting the scale of its AI spending.
Meta’s quarterly revenue for Q2 2026 reached $60.8 billion, and the company raised its annual capital expenditure guidance to a range of $130-145 billion, underscoring the urgency to monetize AI agents at scale.
For digital publishers and content operators, the message is clear: Meta is moving away from relying only on advertising and toward subscription-based, AI-powered services. This mirrors changes at other major publishers, such as those reported earlier, who are adapting their content and workflows for AI-driven distribution and new ways to make money.
Meta’s purchase of Stilla.ai is a calculated risk. The company is spending heavily to build a strong position in business messaging, betting that companies will pay for smarter, more independent AI agents. If Meta can show real gains in customer conversion and efficiency, it could change how brands connect with audiences and set a new standard for AI-powered business tools. But if the technology doesn’t deliver, the financial risks could outweigh the benefits. For now, Meta is signaling it’s willing to spend big to stay ahead in the AI agent race.
Meta remains one of the world’s largest tech companies, with billions of users across its platforms. In 2025, Meta reported annual revenues over $120 billion, with advertising still making up most of its income. But recent financial reports show a growing focus on AI research and product development, as Meta looks to diversify its revenue and stay relevant in a fast-changing digital market.
