Butterfly Effect raises over $500M for Manus

Butterfly Effect, the parent company of AI agent startup Manus, said on October 8, 2026 that it completed a funding round of more than $500 million after resuming independent operations following the unwind of Meta’s planned acquisition. The company did not disclose a post-money valuation or the use of proceeds, but said it would continue hiring in China and overseas after the raise.

What did Butterfly Effect raise, and when did it announce the round?

Butterfly Effect said it raised more than $500 million, which Sina Finance put at about 3.35 billion yuan, in what it described as its first funding round since Meta was forced to abandon its acquisition of Manus. Reuters reported that the company completed the financing after resuming independent operations, while TechCrunch reported the announcement came in a WeChat post from Butterfly Effect on October 8.

The company did not disclose its post-funding valuation, and available reports did not include additional financing terms. Reuters, CNBC, TechCrunch, and Sina Finance all said the announcement left out the valuation, and Sina Finance said Butterfly Effect did not provide further details on how it plans to use the capital.

Who backed the financing?

Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led the round, according to Reuters and PANEWSLAB. Existing investors Tencent, HongShan, formerly Sequoia China, and ZhenFund also participated, with TechCrunch and CNBC noting HSG among the existing shareholders in the round.

Butterfly Effect said the financing came from existing backers as well as the two lead investors.

What is Manus, and what changed after the Meta deal fell apart?

Manus is Butterfly Effect’s AI agent product, described by TechCrunch as including a chatbot and vibe-coding tools for building apps, websites, designs, presentations and video. After the split from Meta, CNBC reported that Manus unveiled Manus 2.0, built on a new in-house execution system called Cascade, and also launched Cue, a personal-agent app where each agent has its own email address, phone number, mobile wallet and computer, according to TechCrunch.

The company’s recent history has been shaped by the blocked acquisition. TechCrunch reported that Manus moved staff to Singapore in mid-2025 before Meta announced a $2 billion acquisition in December, that Chinese authorities later ordered the deal unwound in April, and that Manus resumed independent operations in August. CNBC said China’s National Development and Reform Commission decided to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project. TechCrunch also reported Manus said it had to delete some user data as part of the split.

The company had previously been viewed as a fast-growing AI startup. TechCrunch reported Manus was said to be generating more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue at the time the Meta deal was announced, and that it had been in talks to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation the month before the latest announcement. None of those figures were confirmed by Butterfly Effect in the financing announcement.

What are reports saying about Manus’s IPO plans?

Reports said Manus was considering a Hong Kong IPO, but no timeline was disclosed by the company. TechCrunch reported the company was considering a Hong Kong IPO, while Asia Tech Review reported Reuters said the process would not begin until at least 2027.

Butterfly Effect said it would continue hiring domestically and internationally after the financing, signaling that the company plans to keep building outside the structure of the aborted Meta transaction. TechCrunch reported that the company shared the update in a WeChat post, and PANEWSLAB said Butterfly Effect’s official WeChat account also said recruitment for domestic and overseas roles would continue.

For now, the financing follows Butterfly Effect's resumption of independent operations after the unwinding of Meta's planned acquisition, but the company has not said how it will deploy the money or what valuation investors assigned to the round.