Scoop: Meta acquires Swedish AI startup Stilla.ai

Zoom in: Stilla, which was founded in Stockholm in 2024, will bring its team and technology to Meta pending the close of the deal, a source familiar with the transaction told Axios.

Reality check: Stilla is a small company. The firm raised $5 million in pre-seed funding when it emerged from stealth mode in January.

• Stilla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zoom out: Over the past decade, Meta has worked aggressively to build a commerce engine that connects millions of small businesses to its 1 billion-plus messaging app users.

• A huge part of that effort now relies on Meta's ability to make its AI chatbots useful to merchants who need support converting customer conversations to purchases.
• Meta has said that more than 1 million businesses now use its Business Agent chatbot to handle customer interactions.

What to watch: Meta plans to expand its presence in Sweden following the deal.