Manus Raises $500M in First Funding Round After Failed Meta Acquisition
The round follows Chinese authorities’ April 2026 order to unwind Manus’s planned $2B Meta acquisition over concerns about AI talent moving West. Led by Boyu and IDG, it included Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund; valuation was undisclosed, with a Hong Kong listing reportedly under consideration.
Chinese AI company Manus has raised more than $500 million in its first funding round since a planned $2 billion acquisition by Meta was blocked by Chinese authorities. Parent company Butterfly Effect announced the raise on Thursday, October 8, 2026, via a WeChat post.
The round was led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with existing shareholders Tencent, HSG (formerly Sequoia China), and ZhenFund also participating. Manus did not disclose its valuation, though it had reportedly been in talks last month to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation.
Manus first gained widespread attention following a viral demo of its AI agent. The company relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025 before announcing the Meta acquisition deal that December, at which point it was said to be generating over $100 million in annual recurring revenue. In April 2026, Chinese authorities ordered the startup to unwind the deal, citing concerns over AI talent and researchers moving to the West. Manus resumed independent operations in August after the split was finalized, and was required to delete some user data as part of the process.
The company said it will continue hiring both domestically and internationally. It is also reportedly considering a public listing in Hong Kong.
Manus offers AI products and agents, including a chatbot and vibe-coding tools that allow users to build apps and websites, create designs and presentations, and generate video. The company recently launched Manus 2.0, featuring a new architecture and expanded capabilities. It also introduced Cue, a standalone app that gives AI agents their own email addresses, phone numbers, digital wallets, and computers, enabling them to handle tasks and make payments within user-defined limits.
The fresh capital may help Manus stabilize and expand following the disruption caused by the collapsed Meta deal and its return to independent operations.