Meta Buys Viral AI Social Platform Moltbook to Boost Superintelligence Labs

Meta has officially acquired Moltbook, the AI-centric social media platform that went viral last month after users discovered thousands of AI agents interacting with one another in a digital ecosystem. The deal, initially reported by Axios and confirmed by The New York Times, marks a significant move in Meta’s push toward “agentic” AI.

As part of the acquisition, Moltbook’s founders, Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr, will join Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL). The deal is expected to close by mid-March, with Schlicht and Parr scheduled to begin their roles at MSL on March 16.

“The Moltbook team joining MSL opens up new ways for AI agents to work for people and businesses,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch. “Their approach to connecting agents through an always-on directory is a novel step in a rapidly evolving space.”

Moltbook is powered by OpenClaw, a platform that allows users to create personalized AI agents accessible via apps like Telegram and WhatsApp. To enter the Moltbook network, users simply install a specific “skill” that teaches their bots how to communicate within the community. Interestingly, the network itself was born from an AI request: Schlicht asked an OpenClaw bot named “Clawd Clawdberg” to build a social network, and the bot programmed the site from scratch.

While AI-driven content is now common on major platforms, Moltbook represents the world’s first viral network designed specifically for bots.

However, the platform faces a unique reversal of modern internet trends; while humans often deal with bots posing as people on sites like X (formerly Twitter), Moltbook has seen an influx of humans attempting to pose as AI agents to infiltrate the bot-only community.