Funding and Expansion
Chinese AI lab Manus’ parent company, Butterfly Effect, announced that it has raised more than $500 million in its first funding round since Meta was forced to call off its planned $2 billion acquisition of the startup.
Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the funding round, with participation from existing shareholders including Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund. The company stated that it will continue expanding its workforce both domestically and internationally.
Manus did not disclose its current valuation, though reports from the previous month indicated the company was in discussions to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation.
Regulatory Hurdles
Manus gained widespread attention following a viral demo of its AI agent. The startup relocated personnel to Singapore in mid-2025 ahead of a proposed $2 billion acquisition by Meta announced that December, at which point the company reported annual recurring revenue exceeding $100 million.
In April, Chinese regulatory authorities directed the AI startup to unwind the transaction amid growing concerns within China regarding the outflow of domestic artificial intelligence talent and researchers to Western firms.
Manus resumed independent operations in August following the termination of the Meta agreement and was required to delete specific user data as part of the separation. Reports also indicate the firm is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
Manus declined to comment on its current valuation figures.
Product Ecosystem
Manus develops AI products and agents comparable to offerings from companies such as Cursor, Lovable, and Replit. Its platform provides a chatbot and development utilities that enable users to construct applications, build websites, design presentations, and generate video content.
The company recently released Manus 2.0, featuring a revised architecture and new capabilities built around an updated harness. It also introduced Cue, a standalone application that equips personal AI agents with dedicated email addresses, phone numbers, digital wallets, and computing environments to autonomously communicate, execute multi-service workflows, and process payments within user-defined parameters.
