Manus raises over $500 million in first round since Meta deal was blocked
Manus says it raised more than $500 million led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, per TechCrunch, in its first round since China blocked Meta's $2 billion deal.
Manus, the AI agent developer owned by Butterfly Effect, said on October 8, 2026 that it had raised more than $500 million. According to TechCrunch, Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round. Existing shareholders Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund also took part. It is the company's first funding round since Chinese authorities blocked Meta's $2 billion acquisition of the startup.
Butterfly Effect announced the round in a WeChat post, according to TechCrunch. The company did not disclose a valuation and did not respond to questions about it. A figure of about $4 billion has circulated since September, but the company has not confirmed it.
Who put in the money
TechCrunch names Boyu Capital and IDG Capital as the leads. It lists Tencent, HSG, formerly Sequoia China, and ZhenFund among existing shareholders that participated, and says others did too. SiliconANGLE names Boyu Capital, which it describes as a private equity firm, and says Tencent and several unnamed others also participated. Neither report gives an investor-by-investor breakdown or says whether the money is new or a secondary sale.
The round follows earlier backing. SiliconANGLE reports that Manus raised $10 million in 2024, and that Benchmark invested $75 million in April 2025, when the company moved its headquarters to Singapore.
The $4 billion figure traces to Bloomberg reporting. SiliconANGLE says Bloomberg reported last month (September 2026) that the deal was expected to value Manus at $4 billion, about double the offer Meta reportedly made in December 2025. TechCrunch likewise says the company was said to be in talks last month (September 2026) to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation. The company has not disclosed a valuation, so the figure remains a press report. The reports do not say whether it applies to the closed round.
How the Meta deal was blocked
Meta announced the acquisition in December 2025, according to TechCrunch and OPB. TechCrunch puts the value at $2 billion and says Manus reportedly had annual recurring revenue above $100 million at the time. China said in January that it would investigate whether the deal complied with its laws, according to AP reporting published by OPB. The commerce ministry said outward investment, technology exports, data transfers and cross-border acquisitions must comply with Chinese law.
On Monday, April 27, 2026, China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered the deal withdrawn. Its one-line statement did not name Meta and gave no reasons. The decision came from the commission's Office of the Working Mechanism for Security Review of Foreign Investment, according to OPB. The order came less than a month before U.S. President Donald Trump's planned May visit to Beijing, OPB reports.
Meta said the transaction complied fully with applicable law and that it anticipated an appropriate resolution to the inquiry. Earlier, Meta had said there would be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus and that Manus would discontinue its services and operations in China, OPB reports. TechCrunch reports that Manus resumed independent operations in August 2026 and said it had to delete some user data as part of the split.
Where Manus is based and what analysts say
OPB reports that Manus is based in Singapore and has roots in Beijing-registered entities set up several years ago. Meta said most of Manus's employees are based in Singapore.
Lian Jye Su, chief analyst at Omdia, said in AP reporting that China is taking a tough line on AI talent and capabilities, which it treats as a core national security asset. The analyst said the move indicates how Chinese authorities may act on future acquisitions involving Chinese deep-tech companies, and that the ban could deter similar acquisition plans by U.S. tech giants. The analyst compared it to U.S. export controls, entity lists and investment curbs on China.
The reports set out this timeline: a deal announced in December 2025, an order to withdraw it in April 2026, and a separation in which the company said it was required to delete some user data. None of the reports reviewed says how the review affected the terms of the new round.
“The company has not disclosed a valuation, so the figure remains a press report.”
What Manus says comes next
Manus plans to keep hiring at home and abroad, according to TechCrunch. SiliconANGLE reports that Manus 2.0 launched a few days before the funding announcement. It adds a new harness, a set of software modules that customize the behavior of the underlying LLMs. The company claims the update cuts token use by 23.2% on some tasks and speeds processing by more than 28%.
The release also adds Cloud Computer and Cue, according to SiliconANGLE. TechCrunch describes Cue as a standalone app that gives personal AI agents their own email addresses, phone numbers, digital wallets and computers. Agents can make payments within limits the user sets.
TechCrunch reports that the company is reportedly considering going public in Hong Kong. The reports reviewed do not show the company confirming that plan. As of the October 8, 2026 announcement, the valuation, the final terms of the round and the listing plan remained unconfirmed.
