Stilla.ai

AI · Messaging/Commerce

Acquisition

Meta reportedly acquires Swedish AI startup Stilla.ai for Business Agent

The deal shows Meta buying small specialized teams to make its chatbots close sales, not just chat.

• Meta has acquired Stockholm-based AI startup Stilla.ai to accelerate its Meta Business Agent chatbot, according to Axios, with the deal pending close.
• Stilla, founded in 2024 by Siavash Ghorbani and Kaj Drobin, built multiplayer AI agents for teams handling work like supply-chain operations and portfolio monitoring.
• Business Agent is Meta's chatbot that helps merchants convert customer chats into purchases on WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram.
• Stilla raised just $5 million in pre-seed funding when it emerged from stealth in January, underscoring this is a small, talent-driven deal rather than a major asset purchase.
• More than 1 million businesses already use Meta's Business Agent, showing Meta is scaling an existing commerce tool rather than building one from scratch.
• Meta plans to expand its presence in Sweden following the deal, deepening its foothold in the market that produced the startup.
• The acquisition reflects a broader race among tech giants to turn AI chatbots into transaction engines rather than just conversational interfaces.