Events in a busy December underlined how Agentic AI and users’ desire for reliable, universal coverage became powerful industry forces last year and are gathering strength writes Annie Turner, Contributing Editor

At the very end of December, Singaporean AI start-up Manus announced it is “joining” Meta. Murthy Grandhi, Company Profiles Analyst at GlobalData, wrote that Meta’s acquisition signals a shift from AI models to revenue. He writes that the transaction “underscores how quickly the AI race is shifting from foundation models to deployable software agents that execute real work. The purchase gives Meta a functioning business with paying customers, meaningful revenue and infrastructure already proven at scale.”

In less than a year, Manus reportedly reached revenues that work out pro rata in the region of $100 million to $125 million annually, largely from recurring subscriptions.

Grandhi stated, “[Meta] has committed tens of billions of dollars to AI data centers and model development, but monetization has lagged its infrastructure ambition. Manus offers a ready-made, high-margin software layer that can be sold directly and integrated across Meta’s consumer and enterprise products. Meta is expected to keep Manus as a standalone service while infusing its agent capabilities into Meta AI, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, creating both immediate revenue and longer-term platform leverage.”

The value of the deal was not made public but there were a number of reports suggesting it was billions of dollars. If true, Manus ranks as one of Meta’s largest acquisitions.

Slicing for AI workloads

Another big AI theme is its role in monetising 5G. Last month, Verizon Business launched its 5G Network Slice – Enhanced Internet. The service is designed for businesses’ growing AI-centric workloads, such as inferencing at the edge, meaning that enterprises upload more data than ever, capturing huge volumes from operating environments, central and remote.

Poss illustration https://unsplash.com/photos/purple-white-and-blue-light-W2lzw58kbnk

This data is then uploaded into systems and transferred to cloud instances and software platforms to gain AI-driven insights and drive generative actions, according to Verizon. The operator says that moving the data between operating environments requires seamless, uninterrupted transfers which its new 5G network slice delivers, meeting customers’ service-level agreements and there are no data caps.

AI drives data centre boom in SE Asia

LightReading reported that established markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, Japan and China continued to see heavy investment in data centres in 2025, but notes “explosive growth” in emerging Southeast Asian markets too. They include Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

Apparently, “Much of this funding has been earmarked for the construction of AI-ready facilities,” the report says, but adds that 5G deployments across the region are also fuelling demand for new data centres. Another factor in their growth is sovereignty rules imposed by many Asian governments which have led to cloud service providers building local facilities.

D2D gets real

Direct-to-device satellite communications became commercial reality in 2025. During the year, the industry’s focus became table stakes – as opposed to primarily for emergency use or a nice-to-have for consumers – in the US at least. Europe is following its lead.

Some operators looked to gain first-mover advantage by partnering SpaceX: in July T-Mobile launched the first commercial, nationwide D2D SMS in the US in collaboration with SpaceX’s low-Earth orbit (LEO) Starlink constellation, offering the service to its own customers as well as to AT&T and Verizon’s subscribers.

It seems customers saw D2D’s potential for everyday ubiquitous connectivity ahead of many would-be service providers: 1.8 million people signed up for the beta trial ahead of the commercial launch. By October, the service added support for apps including WhatsApp, Google Maps and AccuWeather.

In the UK, Virgin Media O2 and BT also signed up with Starlink for D2D (scheduled to launch in first and second half of this year respectively), but others are looking to counter Starlink’s dominance. For example, the US, cable operators Comcast and Charter Communications which are partnering Skylo to offer messaging via D2D.

Messaging just so 2025?

AT&T and Verizon have partnered and invested in AST SpaceMobile, not only as an alternative to Starlink, but in a quest to deliver D2D services beyond messaging. AT&T and AST SpaceMobile announced several infrastructure milestones on 30 December after the deployment of BlueBird 6, the first of the AST’s Block 2 satellites, a week earlier.

The spacecraft is designed to provide broadband services directly to standard smartphones using AT&T’s terrestrial spectrum. The partners plan to launch in 2026 – and so do Vodafone and Rakuten, which have also partnered and invested in AST SpaceMobile. In November, Vodafone said it “is looking “to serve mobile network operators…across Europe to ensure ubiquitous mobile broadband in underserved areas and support emergency services and disaster relief agencies” with commercial services from 2026.

As STL Partners points out, “AST’s investor-backed approach gives telcos a stronger hand in shaping its strategy”.

Meanwhile, Orange’s D2D offer, the Message Satellite service, was the first to launch in Europe to the general public on 11 December who subscribe to its 5G and 5G+ services in mainland France and 36 other countries – as long as they use a Google Pixel 9 or 10 smartphone. The service allows them to send and receive SMS messages and geolocation information via satellite when there is no mobile or Wi-Fi coverage Skylo. Message Satellite will be extended to professional and corporate customers during 2026.