AI news · October 9, 2026
Manus raises more than $500M after its Meta deal ends
Manus' parent raised more than $500M after unwinding Meta's $2B deal, while the product targets app, site, design, presentation, and video work; watch its data and action controls, not the round alone.
- new funding
- $500M+
- ended Meta deal
- $2B
- reported prior talks
- $4B
Butterfly Effect, the parent of Manus, said Oct8 that it raised more than $500 million, its first funding round since Meta's planned $2 billion acquisition ended. TechCrunch reports Boyu Capital and IDG Capital led, with Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund joining. Manus did not disclose a valuation; the earlier $4 billion figure was only reported fund-raising discussions.
The product now spans a chatbot, app and website building, designs, presentations, video, and an agent called Cue with an email address, phone number, digital wallet, and computer. The money gives Manus room to hire and expand, but it does not prove better output than Cursor, Lovable, Replit, or a small local workflow. If you try it, use a disposable project and inspect what data and actions it can reach.
What you can do with it
Try a small public project in Manus, such as a simple landing page or slide deck, and compare the result with your current tool. Do not give it private files, payment access, or a live domain during the first test; check the review and export steps first.
Our take
The round keeps Manus in the fight after a messy separation from Meta, but money is not product proof. The useful signal is breadth: one agent now reaches across design, code, and media. The catch is that breadth can hide shallow work, so a paid maker should judge one finished deliverable end to end.
Links Try it Funding report
Source: TechCrunch ↗ — Made With Models writes the brief; the reporting is theirs.