Butterfly Effect, the parent company of AI agent startup Manus, has raised more than $500 million in its first funding round since separating from Meta.
Boyu Capital and IDG Capital co-led the round, while existing investors Tencent, HSG (formerly Sequoia China), and ZhenFund also participated, Butterfly Effect said Thursday.
The company did not disclose its valuation. However, reports last month said that Manus was seeking about $500 million at a $4 billion valuation.
Meta acquired Manus in December 2025 for a reported price of more than $2 billion. Chinese authorities ordered the companies to reverse the deal in April over concerns about Chinese AI technology and talent moving to a U.S. company.
Manus formally resumed independent operations in August, with its founding team remaining in charge. The startup also deleted data generated by some users during the period it was owned by Meta to meet regulatory requirements connected with the separation.
Before the latest funding, Manus' founders and earlier investors reportedly bought Meta's shares back at a valuation of around $2 billion. Tencent was said to have become Manus' largest outside investor after acquiring the stake previously held by Benchmark.
Manus had previously raised $75 million in a Benchmark-led round in April 2025. That deal reportedly valued the company at nearly $500 million.
What Manus does
Manus develops general-purpose AI agents that can complete tasks with limited human involvement. The startup was founded in China and later moved its headquarters and much of its staff to Singapore. Its AI agent gained attention after a public demonstration in March 2025.
Manus' annualized revenue run rate reportedly reached between $400 million and $500 million by June, up from about $100 million when Meta acquired it.
Manus was said to be also considering a joint venture structure incorporated in China, which could prepare it for a possible Hong Kong listing.
Last month, Manus launched Manus 2.0, adding Cascade, a new system that manages different AI agents and tools within the same project. The update also introduced tools for creating documents, presentations, websites, videos and games.
Manus also introduced Cue, an app for creating personal AI agents. Each agent can have its own email address, phone number, digital wallet and computer, allowing them to communicate, coordinate work and make payments within limits set by the user.