Manus, the Chinese AI agent startup, raised more than $500 million in its first funding round since Beijing forced Meta to unwind a $2 billion acquisition of the company, TechCrunch reported.
Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, with existing shareholders Tencent, HSG, formerly known as Sequoia China, and ZhenFund also participating, according to TechCrunch and SiliconANGLE.
Manus did not disclose a post-funding valuation, but a Bloomberg report last month pegged the round at about $4 billion, roughly double the company's previous valuation, SiliconANGLE reported. China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered the Meta deal unwound in April, citing foreign investment rules, and Manus resumed independent operations in August, according to the outlet.
The round follows the launch of Manus 2.0, which added a standalone app called Cue that gives AI agents their own email addresses, phone numbers, digital wallets and computers, SiliconANGLE reported.
A Chinese AI agent startup landing $500 million months after a forced breakup with Meta shows investors still want exposure to agent products even when geopolitics blocks the easy exit, a dynamic worth watching for founders building in regulated or cross-border AI markets.