Chinese AI lab Manus announced on Thursday that its parent company, Butterfly Effect, has raised more than $500 million in its first funding round since a planned acquisition by Meta was called off. The funding round was led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with participation from existing shareholders including Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund. The company stated it will use the capital to continue hiring talent both domestically and internationally following its split from Meta.
Manus previously attracted widespread attention after demonstrating its AI agent last year, prompting a $2 billion acquisition deal by Meta in December 2025. However, in April, Chinese authorities intervened and ordered the startup to unwind the agreement due to growing concerns over losing top AI researchers to Western firms. Manus resumed independent operations in August and is reportedly considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
The startup specializes in AI products and agents, including its recently launched Manus 2.0 and the Cue app, which equips personal AI agents with their own email addresses, phone numbers, and digital wallets to autonomously handle cross-service tasks. This major funding injection highlights the continued strong investor appetite for independent Chinese AI companies scaling up autonomous agent technologies on the global stage.