Manus reportedly seeks $500 million raise at $4 billion valuation
Manus, a Chinese AI startup that split from a planned Meta merger, is reportedly in talks to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, according to the Wall Street Journal citing anonymous sources. Potential backers named include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, as well as existing investors Tencent, HSG and Zhenfund.
Key points
- Manus is reportedly in talks to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, WSJ says
- Potential investors include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, Contemporary Amperex Technology, Tencent, HSG and Zhenfund
- Manus is considering restructuring ahead of a planned Hong Kong IPO after ending its Meta deal
The company is also said to be weighing a restructuring to ready a Hong Kong IPO after the blocked acquisition. Manus went viral last year with an AI‑agent demo, moved its staff to Singapore in mid‑2025 and announced a $2 billion deal with Meta in December, reporting over $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Beijing halted the deal over export‑control concerns, prompting early investors to help buy back shares at roughly a $2 billion price. Users were asked in August to export their data after the firm deleted post‑acquisition content to meet regulatory rules.
Manus continues to offer a chatbot and “vibe‑coding” tools for building apps, websites, designs, presentations, video and a browser assistant, positioning itself alongside OpenAI, Lovable and Replit. The founding team remains in charge, and the startup has not commented on the fundraise.
Manus seeks $4B valuation in new $500M fundraise as it resumes independent ops
TechCrunch AI · 18 September 2026
Chinese AI startup Manus, which earlier this year had to break off a merger with Meta, is in discussions to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation now that it has resumed operations as an independent company, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources.
Potential investors in the round include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, as well as existing backers Tencent, HSG and Zhenfund, the Journal reported. Manus is also said to be considering a restructuring exercise to prepare for an IPO in Hong Kong.
Manus, which went viral following a demo of its AI agent last year, relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025 before announcing a $2 billion acquisition deal with Meta that December. The startup was said to be pulling in annual recurring revenue of over $100 million at the time.
However, intensifying worries in China over losing AI talent and researchers to the West culminated in Beijing blocking the deal, citing potential violations of export controls and foreign investment rules.
Manus has since been untangling itself from the American social media giant, and its early investors and backers have reportedly helped the company buy back its shares at a valuation of about $2 billion.
As part of its separation from Meta, the company told its users this August that they would have to export and back up their own data because it had to delete data generated following Meta’s acquisition to “comply with regulatory requirements in specific jurisdictions.”
The company this month said it has resumed independent operations, and that its founding team will continue to lead it.
Manus makes AI products and agents that are pretty similar to what companies like OpenAI, Lovable and Replit offer. It offers a chatbot and vibe-coding tools to let users build apps, websites, create designs and presentations, generate video, a browser assistant, and more.
Manus did not immediately return a request for comment.
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