Manus raises over $500 million in its first funding round since the forced cancellation of the takeover by Meta

Boyu Capital and IDG Capital are leading the funding round for Butterfly Effect, the parent company of Manus, alongside Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund: investors remain undeterred by Beijing’s veto.

Butterfly Effect, the company that publishes the AI agent Manus, announced on October 8 that it had raised more than $500 million. The round is led by private equity fund Boyu Capital and IDG Capital, joined by historical shareholders Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund. The valuation has not been disclosed; Bloomberg reported last month that it would double to $4 billion.

The post-Meta era

Meta had announced in December that it was buying Manus for about $2 billion, before China's National Development and Reform Commission banned foreign investment in the project, while the integration of the teams had already begun. Since the separation, Manus has launched Manus 2.0, based on a new runtime engine called Cascade, as well as Cue, a personal agent application where each agent has their own email address, number and mobile wallet.

For analysts quoted by CNBC, the lifting shows that the fallout from the Meta affair is contained; the company's priority will now be to prove its profitability and bring its structure into line with Beijing's requirements, perhaps with a view to a future IPO.