Butterfly Effect, the parent company of Chinese AI lab Manus, confirmed on Thursday via WeChat that it has secured more than $500 million in fresh funding. This capital injection marks the first investment round for the startup since Meta cancelled its $2 billion acquisition deal earlier this year. Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the financing, while existing shareholders including Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund also contributed to the round. Manus plans to use the funds to expand its hiring efforts both domestically and internationally. Although the company did not officially disclose its current valuation, reports from last month suggested it was negotiating a $4 billion figure. The startup relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025 before the failed deal with Meta was announced in December. At that time, Manus reported annual recurring revenue exceeding $100 million. In April, Chinese regulators ordered the firm to unwind the transaction due to concerns over brain drain to the West. The company resumed independent operations in August after being required to delete specific user data as part of the separation. Manus is now reportedly considering an initial public offering in Hong Kong. The lab produces AI agents and tools comparable to Cursor, Lovable, and Replit, offering capabilities for building applications, generating video, and creating designs. Recent updates include Manus 2.0, which introduces a new architecture and capabilities around a new harness, and Cue, a standalone application providing personal AI agents with email addresses, phone numbers, and digital wallets. The app enables agents to communicate, manage tasks across services, and process payments within user-defined limits.
- Valuation targets reportedly reached $4 billion before the deal collapse.
- Regulatory pressure forced the deletion of certain user data.
- Future plans include a potential listing on the Hong Kong stock exchange.
