AI startup Manus has raised more than $500 million in fresh funding, staging a remarkable comeback months after Chinese regulators forced Meta to unwind its $2 billion-plus acquisition of the company. The announcement, made on Thursday, marks the Manus $500 million funding round — the company’s first as an independent business since the Meta deal collapsed.
FAKTA
- What: Butterfly Effect, Manus’s parent company, completed a funding round of more than $500 million.
- When announced: Thursday, October 8, 2026.
- Led by: Boyu Capital and IDG Capital; Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund also participated.
- Context: First funding round since Meta’s $2 billion-plus acquisition was unwound on orders from Chinese regulators in April 2026.
- Valuation: Not disclosed; media reports have suggested around $4 billion.
Back as an Independent Company
Manus had been absorbed into Meta after the social media giant announced a deal worth more than $2 billion in December — one of the biggest purchases in Meta’s history. But in April, China’s economic planning body ordered the deal to be unwound, a move analysts said signaled Beijing’s desire for tighter control over homegrown AI talent and technology.
Manus resumed independent operations in September after the separation, and said it was required to delete some user data as part of the split. The company had relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025, and is now described as Chinese-developed and Singapore-based.
Investors Bet Big on AI Agents
The new round was co-led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with existing investors Tencent, HSG Capital (formerly known as Sequoia China) and ZhenFund also taking part, Butterfly Effect said in a statement. The company said it would continue hiring both at home and abroad.
Manus builds general-purpose AI agents — software that can autonomously carry out multistep tasks such as research, information gathering, document preparation and automation with minimal human input. It is one of the hottest sectors in global technology, with AI labs racing to release personal assistants that do real work rather than simply answer questions.
The company’s momentum is striking: The Information reported in June that Manus’s annualized revenue run rate had surged to about $500 million, up from roughly $100 million when Meta acquired it. In September, the company launched a major update to its AI agent tool alongside a new standalone app called Cue.
What Comes Next
The company is reported to be considering a public listing in Hong Kong, though it will not begin the IPO process until at least 2027, according to a source familiar with the matter. With more than half a billion dollars in fresh capital, Manus can expand its technology and commercial operations without being absorbed into a larger tech giant.
The deal also illustrates a broader shift in AI investing: investors are increasingly willing to fund companies that own valuable agent infrastructure, even as competition intensifies from Meta, OpenAI, Google and other technology giants. Read more about how AI is being scrutinized worldwide in our coverage of the call for global controls on frontier AI and the New York AI safety hearing.
Conclusion
Manus’s $500 million raise is more than a funding story — it is a test case for whether an independent AI-agent company can thrive after one of the most dramatic deal collapses in recent tech history. With revenue reportedly surging and a Hong Kong listing on the horizon, the startup has the resources to find out.
