AI company Manus, operated by Butterfly Effect, has completed a funding round exceeding $500 million, marking a major new investment phase for its independently run AI platform.
The round was led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, with participation from existing backers including Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund. Manus says the investment will support continued recruitment across domestic and international teams.
Building a broader AI agent ecosystem
Manus gained global attention through its AI agent demonstrations, showcasing tools designed to complete multi-step digital tasks. Its product suite includes conversational AI, app and website creation tools, design and presentation generation features, and video-production capabilities.
The company recently introduced Manus 2.0, a new platform architecture designed to bring its tools and agent capabilities into a more integrated experience. It also launched Cue, a standalone application that gives personal AI agents dedicated digital identities, including email addresses, phone numbers, wallets and computer environments.
Within user-defined permissions, Cue can help agents communicate across services, manage workflows and complete selected payments. The approach reflects a growing shift from AI chat interfaces toward more autonomous software assistants that can support everyday professional and creative tasks.
Manus has not disclosed its current valuation, though the new financing strengthens its capacity to develop products, grow its workforce and compete in the rapidly evolving AI-agent market.
The expansion of platforms such as Manus could accelerate a future in which personal AI agents become practical collaborators for building, organizing and operating digital work.
