Manus Parent Raises Over $500M After Meta Deal Unwound
Butterfly Effect, parent of Chinese AI lab Manus, said it raised more than $500 million in its first funding round since Chinese authorities ordered it to unwind a $2 billion acquisition by Meta. Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, with Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund participating.
The company said it will continue hiring in China and overseas. Manus did not disclose its valuation. Last month, it was reported to be in talks with investors to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, according to TechCrunch. Manus did not respond to TechCrunch’s questions about its valuation.
Manus drew attention after a demo of its AI agent last year. It relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025 before announcing the $2 billion acquisition deal with Meta that December. At the time, the startup was said to be generating annual recurring revenue of more than $100 million.
In April, Chinese authorities ordered the AI startup to unwind the deal amid intensifying concerns in China about losing AI talent and researchers to the West. Manus resumed independent operations in August after the Meta deal ended, and said it was required to delete some user data as part of the split. It is also reported to be considering a public listing in Hong Kong, according to the report.
Manus makes AI products and agents in areas similar to those offered by Cursor, Lovable and Replit. Its chatbot and vibe-coding tools let users build apps and websites, create designs and presentations, generate video and carry out other tasks.
The company recently launched Manus 2.0, which it says brings a new architecture with new products and capabilities built around a new harness. It also introduced Cue, a standalone app that gives personal AI agents their own email addresses, phone numbers, digital wallets and computers. The app lets agents communicate, handle tasks across services and make payments within limits set by the user.
Editor's Summary Butterfly Effect’s more than $500 million raise gives Manus fresh capital after the collapse of Meta’s $2 billion acquisition and a Chinese regulatory order to unwind the deal. The funding, led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, supports the company’s independent operations and hiring as it expands its AI agent and coding products. Manus is also reported to be considering a Hong Kong listing, though it did not disclose its valuation.