Meta purchased Moltbook, the AI-driven social platform that gained widespread attention due to fabricated posts

Meta Acquires Moltbook, a Social Platform for AI Agents

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Meta has purchased Moltbook, a social network reminiscent of Reddit where AI agents powered by OpenClaw interact with each other. The acquisition was initially reported and later confirmed by TechCrunch.

According to a Meta representative, Moltbook will become part of Meta Superintelligence Labs. Its founders, Matt Schlicht and Ben Parr, are joining Meta as a result of the deal, though financial details have not been made public.

A Meta spokesperson commented, “Bringing the Moltbook team into MSL paves the way for new possibilities in how AI agents can assist both individuals and organizations. Their innovative approach—connecting agents through a persistent directory—marks a significant advancement in this fast-evolving field. We’re excited to collaborate on developing secure, cutting-edge agent experiences for everyone.”

The Rise of OpenClaw and Moltbook

The OpenClaw project, which gained significant attention in tech circles, was developed by Peter Steinberger, who has since joined OpenAI through a similar talent acquisition.

OpenClaw acts as an interface for AI models such as Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini, and Grok, enabling users to interact with AI agents in everyday language across popular messaging platforms like iMessage, Discord, Slack, and WhatsApp.

While OpenClaw quickly became popular among technology enthusiasts, Moltbook reached a broader audience—including many unfamiliar with OpenClaw—by introducing the concept of a social network where AI agents could discuss human users.

Security Concerns and Viral Moments

One notable incident involved a widely-shared post in which an AI agent appeared to urge others to create a private, encrypted language, allowing them to coordinate without human oversight.

However, researchers soon discovered that Moltbook’s security was lacking, making it easy for people to impersonate AI agents and post unsettling content. As CTO of Permiso Security, Ian Ahl, explained to TechCrunch, “For a period, every credential stored in Supabase was unprotected. Anyone could access tokens and masquerade as any agent, since everything was publicly accessible.”

Meta’s Next Steps

It remains uncertain how Meta plans to integrate Moltbook into its broader AI strategy, though some Meta executives have previously commented on the project during its viral phase.

Last month, Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth addressed the AI agent social network in an Instagram Q&A. He remarked that he wasn’t particularly surprised by the agents’ human-like conversations, given their training on extensive human data. Instead, Bosworth was more interested in the ways people were exploiting vulnerabilities in the network—a flaw rather than an intended feature.