Chinese artificial intelligence lab Manus secured more than $500 million in its first funding round since a planned acquisition by Meta collapsed. Butterfly Effect, the parent company of Manus, announced the financing on Thursday via a WeChat post.
Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the funding round. Existing shareholders Tencent, HSG, ZhenFund, and others also participated in the round. Manus stated that it will continue hiring employees both at home and abroad.
Manus did not disclose its valuation in the announcement. Last month, reports indicated the company was discussing raising $500 million at a $4 billion valuation. Manus did not respond to TechCrunch inquiries regarding its valuation.
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The startup went viral last year following a demonstration of its artificial intelligence agent. Manus relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025. Meta announced a $2 billion acquisition deal for the startup that December. Reports at the time indicated Manus had annual recurring revenue exceeding $100 million.
Chinese authorities ordered the startup to unwind the deal in April. Regulators held intensifying worries about losing artificial intelligence talent and researchers to Western companies. Manus resumed independent operations in August after the Meta deal ended. The company noted that it had to delete some user data as part of the separation.
Reports suggest Manus is considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong. The company develops artificial intelligence products and agents similar to offerings from Cursor, Lovable, and Replit. Its platform provides a chatbot and vibe-coding tools for building applications, websites, designs, presentations, and generating video.
Manus launched new products and capabilities
Manus recently released Manus 2.0. The company states the new version introduces an architecture featuring new products and capabilities built around a new harness. The release also included a stand-alone app named Cue.
The Cue application provides personal artificial intelligence agents with individual email addresses, phone numbers, digital wallets, and computers. The app allows agents to communicate, complete tasks across services, and make payments within user-defined limits.
Butterfly Effect will proceed with its recruitment plans for domestic and international markets while evaluating potential public listing options in Hong Kong.
