Butterfly Effect

AI Agents · China Tech

Funding

Manus parent Butterfly Effect raises $500M+, reportedly hits $4B valuation

Investors are still betting big on Chinese AI agents even after regulators forced the reversal of one of the sector's largest acquisitions.

• Butterfly Effect, parent of AI agent startup Manus, closed a funding round of more than $500 million led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with existing investors Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund also participating.
• Manus builds general-purpose AI agents that can autonomously carry out tasks such as research, bookings and automation with minimal human input.
• The round is the first since China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered Meta in April to unwind its roughly $2 billion acquisition of Manus, prompting founders and investors to buy the company back at that valuation.
• Media reports had projected the financing would double Manus's valuation to about $4 billion, which would make it China's most valuable AI agent maker, though the company itself did not disclose a figure.
• Manus's annualized revenue run rate reportedly surged to about $500 million by June, up roughly fivefold from the $100 million level when Meta first acquired it.
• Manus is reportedly weighing a joint-venture structure incorporated in China that could set up a future Hong Kong listing, as it works to align with Beijing's regulatory requirements.
• The raise shows investor appetite for Chinese AI agent startups has held up despite an unprecedented government-ordered unwind of a major US acquisition and intensifying price competition among foundation models.