Manus Seeks $500M at $4B Valuation After Returning to Independence

Introduction

Manus is seeking a new financial foundation after its proposed acquisition by Meta failed to move forward. The Chinese AI startup is in discussions to raise $500 million at a valuation of approximately $4 billion, according to The Wall Street Journal, which cited anonymous sources. The transaction has not been confirmed as completed, and Manus did not immediately respond to a request for comment, so the reported valuation should be treated as a fundraising target rather than a finalized market price.

Key points

• Potential participants reportedly include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital and Contemporary Amperex Technology.
• Existing backers Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund may also take part in the round.
• Manus’s proposed acquisition by Meta, valued at about $2 billion, was blocked after concerns emerged in China over talent transfers, export controls and foreign investment rules.
• Early investors and backers reportedly helped the company buy back shares at a valuation of roughly $2 billion.
• Manus says it has resumed independent operations and is considering a restructuring that could prepare it for a Hong Kong listing.

From acquisition target to independent startup

Manus gained attention after a widely circulated demonstration of its AI agent. The company moved staff to Singapore in mid-2025 and announced its acquisition arrangement with Meta in December of that year. At the time, it was reportedly generating more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue. The deal later became entangled in regulatory concerns and ultimately did not proceed.

The separation from Meta has also had operational consequences. In August, Manus told users that they would need to export and back up their own data because data generated after Meta’s acquisition would have to be deleted to comply with requirements in certain jurisdictions. The company has since said that its founding team will continue to lead it as it operates independently.

Manus offers a chatbot and agent-oriented tools for building applications and websites, creating designs and presentations, and generating video. Its product direction overlaps with parts of the offerings from OpenAI, Lovable and Replit, placing it in a competitive segment where product speed and user retention matter as much as headline demonstrations.

Why it matters

If completed on the reported terms, the financing would represent a substantial step up from the approximately $2 billion valuation associated with the share buyback. It would also suggest that investors continue to see potential in AI agents and natural-language software creation. However, discussions can change before signing or closing, and a target valuation is not equivalent to a completed financing.

The broader significance lies in the constraints facing Chinese AI startups operating across borders. Manus must now balance product expansion and international operations with data compliance, ownership structure and regulatory scrutiny. A new financing round could provide time and resources to rebuild independently, while a possible Hong Kong listing restructuring would offer a longer-term capital route. The decisive test will be whether Manus can convert early visibility into durable revenue and user engagement.

Source: TechCrunch AI