What Is Manus? The AI Startup Meta Just Bought—and Why Everyone Is Talking About It

For months, Manus has been a whispered name in Silicon Valley group chats, VC pitch rooms, and AI founder circles. Then Mark Zuckerberg made it official.

Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus, a relatively young AI startup, is not just another headline-grabbing deal—it’s a signal. A signal that the AI race is no longer only about models, benchmarks, or futuristic demos. It’s about products that actually work, scale, and make money.

So what exactly is Manus—and why did Meta move so decisively to buy it?

Manus: From Viral Demo to Silicon Valley Obsession

Manus burst onto the scene earlier this year with a demo video that did what most AI launches fail to do—it made people stop scrolling.

The video showed an AI agent that could screen job candidates end-to-end, plan vacations with real-world constraints, and even analyze stock portfolios. The company boldly claimed its system outperformed OpenAI’s Deep Research in complex task execution. Whether or not everyone agreed, one thing was clear: Manus felt less like a chatbot and more like a digital worker.

The response was immediate. Engineers dissected it. Founders tried it. Investors chased it.

A Funding Sprint Few Startups Ever See

Just weeks after launch, Manus closed a massive $75 million funding round led by Benchmark, valuing the company at $500 million post-money. Benchmark’s Chetan Puttagunta joined the board, adding further credibility to the startup’s ambitions.

Chinese media reports later revealed that Manus had already raised an earlier $10 million round, backed by heavyweight names including Tencent, ZhenFund, and HSG (formerly Sequoia China). The startup’s global footprint was already taking shape—even before most people had heard its name.

Aggressive Pricing—and Unexpected Traction

When Manus introduced paid plans priced at $39 and $199 per month, eyebrows were raised. Bloomberg called the pricing “somewhat aggressive” for a product still in testing. But Manus didn’t back down—and users didn’t walk away.

Instead, adoption surged. The company says it has now signed up millions of users and crossed $100 million in annual recurring revenue—a rare milestone for any AI startup, let alone one less than a year old.

That number changed everything.

Why Meta Wanted Manus

According to The Wall Street Journal, Meta agreed to acquire Manus for $2 billion—the same valuation the startup was reportedly targeting for its next funding round.

For Zuckerberg, this wasn’t just about acquiring talent or technology. Manus represented something Meta urgently needed: proof that AI products can generate real revenue today.

As investor scrutiny intensifies around Meta’s nearly $60 billion annual AI infrastructure spending, Manus offers a counter-narrative—AI that pays for itself.

Meta has said Manus will continue operating independently while its AI agents are gradually integrated across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, where Meta AI is already embedded.

The China Question—and Meta’s Clean Break

There is, however, a geopolitical wrinkle.

Manus was founded by Chinese entrepreneurs who launched their parent company, Butterfly Effect, in Beijing in 2022 before relocating operations to Singapore earlier this year. That history has already attracted political attention in the US.

Senator John Cornyn, a senior member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, publicly criticised Benchmark’s investment earlier this year, questioning why American capital should support AI companies with Chinese roots. His comments reflect a broader, bipartisan hardening of US attitudes toward China in critical technology sectors.

Meta has moved swiftly to address these concerns. The company told Nikkei Asia that following the acquisition, Manus will have no Chinese investors, no Chinese ownership, and will completely discontinue operations in China.

“There will be no continuing Chinese ownership interests in Manus AI following the transaction,” a Meta spokesperson said.

Why Manus Matters Beyond the Deal

Manus is not just another AI acquisition—it’s a marker of where the industry is headed.

The excitement around Manus isn’t only about what it can do, but about what it represents: AI systems evolving from impressive demos into dependable, revenue-generating products. In an era where hype is cheap and infrastructure costs are soaring, Manus stands out for one simple reason—it works, and people are willing to pay for it.

That, more than anything else, explains why Meta didn’t wait.

And why everyone is still talking about Manus.