Manus raises $500M in first round since Meta deal collapsed

Butterfly Effect, the parent company of AI agent maker Manus, said on 8 October 2026 that it raised more than $500 million, TechCrunch reported. It is the company's first round since Meta was forced to call off its $2 billion acquisition. The company announced the round in a WeChat post and did not disclose a valuation.

Manus is not a US startup. It was founded in China and incorporated in Singapore, so this story sits at the edge of The Deal Tape's US scope. It is included because the round follows a collapsed deal with Meta, which shows what cross-border risk looks like for a US acquirer.

How much did Manus raise and who invested?

Manus raised "more than $500 million," the figure used by both TechCrunch and SiliconANGLE. The company has not given an exact total. Both outlets date the announcement to 8 October 2026.

TechCrunch reports that Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round. Existing shareholders Tencent, HSG (formerly known as Sequoia China), ZhenFund and others also took part. SiliconANGLE names Boyu Capital as the lead and Tencent among the other investors, without naming IDG.

What is Manus valued at?

The company has not said. TechCrunch notes that Manus did not disclose its valuation and did not respond to its questions about it. The $4 billion figure comes from Bloomberg, which reported in September 2026, per SiliconANGLE, that the round was expected to price at that level.

SiliconANGLE adds that $4 billion is about double what Meta reportedly offered the previous December. Treat the figure as a media report, not a confirmed valuation.

What does Manus do?

Manus makes AI agents and related products. TechCrunch says it offers a chatbot and vibe-coding tools that let users build apps and websites, create designs and presentations, and generate video. TechCrunch compares its products to those of Cursor, Lovable and Replit.

The company recently launched Manus 2.0, which it says brings a new architecture built around a new harness. SiliconANGLE reports the company says the harness reduces token use by 23.2% across some tasks and speeds up processing by more than 28%. These are company claims; no independent test is cited.

Manus also introduced Cue, a stand-alone app. TechCrunch says Cue gives personal AI agents their own email addresses, phone numbers, digital wallets and computers, with payments limited by the user.

Who founded Manus?

The Next Web describes Manus as founded by Xiao Hong (CEO) and Ji Yichao (Chief Scientist) in China and incorporated in Singapore. A later TNW report on the Meta split also lists Zhang Tao among the founders.

SiliconANGLE says the company launched as Butterfly Effect Co. Ltd. in 2022. Its first product was a browser extension that gave access to several AI models through one interface. After a 2024 raise of $10 million, it refocused on the product that became the Manus agent.

How much has Manus raised in total?

The company has not published a cumulative total. The earlier rounds it has been reported to have raised are below. The new round should not be added to earlier figures to produce a total without the company confirming it.

What happened to Meta's acquisition of Manus?

China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered the deal unwound on 27 April 2026, The Next Web reported. The order came four months after the December 2025 announcement. The Wall Street Journal had put the price at over $2 billion, per TNW; TechCrunch gives it as $2 billion.

TNW's English rendering of the regulator's one-line statement was to "prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project in accordance with laws and regulations". TNW gives no original-language text. TechCrunch says the order came amid worries in China over losing AI talent and researchers to the West.

The split was not quick. By 11 June 2026, TNW reported that Manus staff had been barred from Meta's internal data systems, and an internal memo cited by Bloomberg said Meta was "sunsetting" Manus. TechCrunch reports Manus resumed independent operations in August 2026 and said it was required to delete some user data as part of the split.

Where is Manus based, and why does it matter?

Sources agree that Manus moved to Singapore, but not on when. TechCrunch says it relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025. SiliconANGLE says it relocated its headquarters there in April 2025. Neither October article states where the company is headquartered today.

The move did not protect the Meta deal. According to TNW, the regulator reportedly found a violation of foreign investment and technology export rules even though Manus had relocated its headquarters and key staff to Singapore in 2025. For a US buyer, the lesson drawn from this case is that a foreign holding company did not settle the question of Chinese jurisdiction. That is an inference from the reported facts, not a legal finding.

What will the money be used for?

The company has said little. TechCrunch reports only that Manus said it will continue hiring both at home and abroad.

Who are Manus's competitors?

TechCrunch names Cursor, Lovable and Replit as companies with similar products. SiliconANGLE notes that Nous Research, a competing consumer AI agent startup, raised $90 million a day earlier, on 7 October 2026.

What's still unclear?

Several points are open as of 12 October 2026.

• Valuation. The $4 billion figure is Bloomberg's, relayed by other outlets. The company has not confirmed it.
• Exact amount. "More than $500 million" is the only figure available.
• Lead investors. TechCrunch names Boyu Capital and IDG Capital. SiliconANGLE names only Boyu Capital.
• Headquarters. The relocation date differs between outlets, and no October article states the current headquarters.
• Regulatory exposure. The same authorities that ordered the Meta deal unwound have not commented on this round, and whether further foreign investment would draw scrutiny is not addressed.