Manus Raised More Than $500 Million Six Months After China Forced Meta to Unwind Its $2 Billion Takeover
The Singapore-based AI agent startup says Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led its first round since buying itself back, with Tencent returning, and it has not disclosed a valuation.
Outspoken Digest Technology Desk
Friday, October 9, 2026/2 min read
Six months after Beijing ordered Meta's takeover of an AI agent startup unwound, the startup has gone looking for money of its own and found it. Manus said on Thursday 8 October that it has raised more than $500 million, AFP reported, in its first funding round since its founders and investors bought the company back from Meta.
Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, with existing investors Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund taking part. Manus did not disclose a valuation. Media reports put it at about $4 billion, which AFP notes is roughly double what Meta had agreed to pay.
What happened to the Meta deal?
Meta announced on 29 December 2025 that it would buy Manus, and PYMNTS recalls that the Wall Street Journal valued the deal at more than $2 billion. AFP calls it one of the largest purchases in Meta's history. Manus is Chinese-developed but based in Singapore, and it had moved its staff there in mid-2025.
The reversal came in April. China's National Development and Reform Commission announced that it would "prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project" and told the companies to withdraw the acquisition, PYMNTS reports. CNBC had reported in January that regulators were examining whether the deal complied with export control laws. AFP adds that Beijing reportedly restricted overseas travel for two of Manus's co-founders, and that the same two appeared at a Manus product launch in Singapore last month.
On 1 September Manus said in a blog post that it had formally resumed independent operations, with its founding team still in charge. It also said it would delete some user data generated on and after the acquisition so as to comply with regulations in certain regions.
What does Manus sell?
Its agent tool performs real-world tasks for users, in a field where the big AI labs are racing to ship personal assistants. In September Manus released a major update and a standalone app called Cue, which lets people build personal agents that can book restaurants and make phone calls. AFP compares Cue to Meta's own personal agent, Muse, which, as we reported last month, became America's most downloaded app.
What the new money signals
The company says it is forming teams to develop products for the domestic market, according to AFP, and its parent, Butterfly Effect, is recruiting both in China and abroad, PYMNTS says. The investor list carries its own message. Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund were already shareholders, and all three came back in after Beijing's intervention.
The open questions are practical ones. Manus has not confirmed a valuation, it has not said how much of its product it will build for China as opposed to overseas users, and it now competes with the assistant from the company that tried to buy it as well as with the labs' own agents. The next round of product launches will show which of those bets it is making.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
Editorial desk
Outspoken Digest Technology DeskSoftware, hardware, artificial intelligence and what they change for everyone else.
Newsletter
The Digest, in your inbox
One edition, sent when it is ready. No noise, and your address is never passed on.
Read Next
More Technology →
SpaceX Agrees to Buy a Nationwide Block of 800 MHz Spectrum, Reportedly for $8 Billion, to Back Starlink Mobile
Oct 9, 2026/3 min read
Webb and MeerKAT Find the Most Distant Fast Radio Burst Yet, From a Small Galaxy About 11 Billion Years Back
Oct 9, 2026/2 min read
Finland Orders Google to Stop Forest Clearing at Two Data Centre Sites Until Environmental Reviews Finish
Oct 9, 2026/3 min read
