Manus raises over $500m after Meta's blocked $2bn takeover
Butterfly Effect, parent of AI startup Manus, has raised more than $500m led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital — its first round since Meta's $2bn takeover was blocked by Beijing.
Butterfly Effect, the parent company of Chinese-developed, Singapore-based AI startup Manus, said on Thursday it had completed a funding round of more than $500 million, its first since its founders and investors bought the firm back from Meta after Beijing blocked the US tech giant’s $2 billion acquisition. The funding announcement was reported by AFP and Nikkei Asia.
The round was led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with existing investors Tencent, HSG Capital and ZhenFund also taking part, the company said in a statement. Manus did not disclose its valuation, but media reports have suggested it could be around $4 billion — roughly double what Meta agreed to pay.
Meta’s acquisition of Manus was announced in December, before China’s economic planning body said in April the deal must be unwound, a move analysts said signalled Beijing’s desire for greater control over homegrown tech. Reuters reported that Beijing had ordered Meta to unwind the deal amid tightening scrutiny of US investment in Chinese AI startups.
Manus resumed independent operations in September, launching a major update to its AI agent tool — software that carries out real-world tasks for users — alongside Cue, a standalone app letting people build personal AI agents for chores such as booking restaurants and making phone calls, AFP reported. The firm has also said it is forming teams to “develop products for the domestic market”.
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