Manus raises over $500M after its Meta sale is unwound
Manus's parent raised more than $500 million, led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital. It is the first round since China ordered Meta's $2 billion deal unwound.
3 min read
By the numbers
- raised in the new round
- $500M+
- price Meta paid before the deal was unwound
- $2B
- valuation reported in earlier funding talks
- $4B
- annual revenue run rate reported in June
- ~$500M
Butterfly Effect, the company behind the AI agent Manus, said on October 8, 2026 that it has raised more than $500 million. Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, TechCrunch reports. It is the company's first funding since Chinese regulators forced Meta to undo its $2 billion purchase of Manus. The money shows investors will back Manus as a standalone company, even after a cross-border deal fell apart.
The round
Butterfly Effect announced the raise in a post on WeChat, the Chinese messaging app. It did not publish an exact amount beyond "more than $500 million." Existing shareholders also took part, according to TechCrunch and Quartz:
| Investor | Role |
|---|---|
| Boyu Capital | Co-lead |
| IDG Capital | Co-lead |
| Tencent | Existing shareholder, participated |
| HSG (formerly Sequoia China) | Existing shareholder, participated |
| ZhenFund | Existing shareholder, participated |
The company did not disclose its valuation. Quartz, citing an earlier Bloomberg report, says the round was expected to value Manus at $4 billion. That would be twice the price Meta paid. Manus did not answer TechCrunch's questions about valuation. The company says it "will continue hiring both at home and abroad."
How the Meta deal came apart
Manus builds AI agents, programs that carry out multi-step tasks on a computer for the user. It started in China and later moved its base to Singapore, Quartz reports.
Meta bought Manus for $2 billion in a deal that closed on December 29, 2025. Manus announced it on its blog that day. In April 2026, China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered the deal unwound, Quartz reports. The economic planning agency cited the country's foreign investment rules. TechCrunch adds that Chinese officials were worried about losing AI talent to the West.
TechCrunch and Quartz both say Manus returned to independent operation in August. Manus's own blog post on the move is dated September 1. The split required some user data to be deleted, Quartz reports. In early October, Manus said its operations had fully restarted.
Revenue and products
Manus has grown since the sale. Its blog reported $100 million in annual recurring revenue in December 2025. In June, The Information put its annualized revenue run rate at about $500 million, Quartz reports. That is five times the figure from when Meta completed the purchase.
The company has shipped steadily since leaving Meta. Its blog lists these releases:
- Manus 2.0 (September 28): a new agent system called Cascade, a Cloud Computer, Automations and Manus Studio
- Manus Flex (September 29): lets users bring their own AI model API key into Manus
- Video Editor and Game Dev tools (October 1)
Manus 2.0 also introduced Cue, a separate app for personal agents. Quartz says each Cue agent gets its own email address, phone number and mobile wallet. TechCrunch reports that Manus is considering a Hong Kong stock listing.
What analysts say
The round shows that "investors are willing to back Manus as an independent company," said Dan Wang, China director at the Eurasia Group, according to Quartz. Han Lin, China country director at The Asia Group, sounded a note of caution. "The immediate task for Manus now is proving scale, profitability and regulatory alignment," Lin said.
What this means for developers
- Check what survived the split. The separation from Meta required deleting some user data. Teams that used Manus during the Meta period should confirm their projects, files and automations are still there.
- Weigh the regulatory risk. Manus now answers to Chinese regulators, who have already reversed one sale. Before you build workflows on it, ask where your data is stored and processed.
- Try bring-your-own-key. Manus Flex lets you plug in your own model API key. That can lower costs and keep billing with a provider you already use.
- Treat Cue as early. An agent with its own phone number and wallet can act in the real world for you. Test it with low limits before you link real accounts.
- Watch the listing plans. A Hong Kong listing would bring public financial reports. Those would show whether the reported $500 million run rate holds up.
The new money buys Manus time. The next test is whether it can keep growing without a large partner behind it.
Sources
- China's Manus raises over $500M in first funding round since split with Meta - TechCrunch
- Manus raises $500M after China blocked Meta acquisition - Quartz via Yahoo Finance
- Manus blog - Manus
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