Home›Crypto›Market Structure›Manus raises more than $500 million after China unwoun…

Manus raises more than $500 million after China unwound Meta deal

The AI agent startup said it will keep hiring in China and abroad, following the $2 billion acquisition being returned by Meta after Beijing intervention.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Market Structure

Manus, the AI agent startup that Meta had bought for about $2 billion before China forced the deal to be unwound, has raised more than $500 million in fresh funding, Decrypt reports. The funding round was confirmed by Manus parent company Butterfly Effect in a WeChat post.

Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, with existing backers Tencent, HSG (formerly Sequoia China), and ZhenFund also joining, according to Decrypt. Butterfly Effect did not disclose how it plans to spend the money or provide a valuation.

Manus did not share its spending plans, but it said it intends to keep hiring in China and abroad after the funding, Decrypt reported. The article also notes that Bloomberg previously reported Butterfly Effect was seeking a $500 million raise at a $4 billion valuation, about double the amount Meta agreed to pay.

Decrypt adds that Manus builds AI agents designed to carry out goals rather than only answer questions, including tasks like booking trips and analyzing stocks. When it launched in March 2025, Manus positioned itself as a Chinese alternative to OpenAI’s invitation-only agent priced at about $200 per month, and it said it used Anthropic’s Claude and fine-tuned versions of Alibaba technology.

More like this

Sources