Manus Raises $500M After Beijing Unwound Its Meta Deal

An AI startup that Meta bought for about $2 billion, then had to hand back after Beijing stepped in, just raised more than $500 million of its own.

A deal that got unwound

Manus builds AI agents — software that takes a goal and carries it out on its own rather than just answering questions. Meta announced it would buy the company for roughly $2 billion in December 2025.

China's top economic planning agency ordered the deal withdrawn on April 27, saying it would prohibit foreign investment in Manus. Meta cut ties in June, and by August Manus said it was operating independently again, deleting some user data created from late December 2025 to separate its systems from Meta's.

Who paid for the comeback

Its parent, Butterfly Effect, confirmed the new round in a WeChat post. Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led it, with Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund joining. No valuation was disclosed, though earlier reporting pointed to a $500 million raise at a $4 billion valuation — roughly double what Meta agreed to pay.

Manus had already hit $100 million in annual recurring revenue by December 2025, about eight months after launch.

Why crypto should care

Manus now sells Cue, an app that gives AI agents their own phone numbers and digital wallets, with spending capped at a budget the user sets.

That is the part worth watching. Agents that hold and move money need payment rails, identity and spending limits — the exact problems crypto has spent years building for. If autonomous software becomes a normal buyer online, someone has to settle those transactions.

Beijing is tightening at the same time. In May it required senior AI workers at private firms, including Alibaba and DeepSeek, to get approval before travelling abroad.

For airdrop hunters, the lesson is simple: the next wave of onchain users may not be people at all.