Butterfly Effect, the Chinese startup behind the rising Manus AI platform, secured a significant funding boost, completing a $75 million financing round led by prominent US venture firm Benchmark. The capital injection has catapulted the company’s valuation to nearly half a billion dollars, roughly five times its previous figure. Sources familiar with the deal confirmed the development but requested anonymity due to the private nature of the discussions.
Benchmark’s participation in the funding round signals growing international confidence in Butterfly Effect’s technology. Several existing backers, including Tencent Holdings Ltd., ZhenFund, and HSG (formerly Sequoia China), also doubled down on their investments. Butterfly Effect now plans to use the new capital to expand Manus AI’s presence beyond China, targeting key markets such as the United States, Japan, and the Middle East.
In March, Manus previewed its general-purpose AI agent, setting off a wave of interest within the tech community. The AI agent demonstrated capabilities like screening resumes, planning travel itineraries, and analyzing stocks—all from basic user instructions. Butterfly Effect claimed that Manus outperformed OpenAI’s Deep Research agent on multiple fronts, raising eyebrows in Silicon Valley and beyond.
Since Manus’s announcement, major Chinese tech players such as ByteDance Ltd. and Baidu Inc. have rushed to develop their own agentic AI platforms. However, Butterfly Effect seized the early-mover advantage by positioning Manus as a “truly autonomous” product, according to Ji Yichao, the company’s co-founder and chief scientist.
Ji emphasized the autonomy of Manus in interviews and product demonstrations. Unlike other AI agents that require significant hand-holding, Manus operates independently once users provide high-level commands. A viral product demonstration video showcased the agent’s ability to complete complex tasks with minimal human intervention. This demonstration quickly captured global attention, creating a frenzied demand for access to Manus’s limited number of “cores”—the system’s access points.
Manus’s early success immediately drew comparisons to DeepSeek, another Chinese AI project that shook Silicon Valley earlier this year by offering high-quality AI services at a fraction of American competitors’ prices. Analysts noted that both startups challenge the assumption that the United States would maintain an uncontested lead in artificial intelligence innovation.
Initial user feedback for Manus varied widely. Some early adopters praised Manus as groundbreaking, citing its impressive versatility and autonomy. Others criticized the platform, describing it as “half-finished” and noting glitches in certain task executions. Despite the mixed reviews, Manus attracted enough enthusiasm to launch a subscription-based model shortly after its public debut.
Butterfly Effect priced Manus access aggressively. The company offers a $39-per-month base subscription and a $199-per-month premium option, comparable to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro service. Many analysts interpreted the pricing as a bold move, especially considering that Manus remains in an early, testing-heavy phase of development.
Butterfly Effect’s journey began with modest funding. The startup previously raised over $10 million across earlier financing rounds, receiving support from heavyweight investors like Tencent Holdings and influential venture capital firms such as ZhenFund and HSG. These early investments laid the foundation for Manus’s current success and helped the company refine its AI technology over several iterations.
Now, with Benchmark’s backing, Butterfly Effect stands poised to take Manus global. The move into the United States will pit the Chinese startup directly against entrenched giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google DeepMind. The company also aims to establish footholds in Japan and the Middle East, where demand for advanced AI agents continues to climb rapidly.
Butterfly Effect’s executives believe that Manus’s autonomy gives them a unique edge. Ji Yichao explained that the team focused heavily on reducing human supervision requirements. By minimizing user input, they wanted to create an AI agent that not only responds but also proactively optimizes tasks based on inferred user goals. This approach contrasts sharply with most current AI platforms, which often require users to guide and fine-tune outputs manually.
Silicon Valley investors took notice of Manus’s strategic vision early. Sources familiar with the Benchmark deal said that Manus’s viral debut video played a critical role in convincing US investors of its disruptive potential. The video depicted Manus seamlessly handling a series of complex tasks, from trip planning to investment portfolio analysis, without explicit step-by-step instructions.
Yet challenges remain. Industry experts point out that Manus must maintain its early momentum while addressing lingering quality and reliability concerns. Users reported that while Manus excelled in high-level planning tasks, it sometimes struggled with granular details or unique requests. Maintaining a balance between autonomy and precision will likely determine Manus’s future success.
Butterfly Effect appears well aware of these hurdles. The company plans to invest a significant portion of the new funding into research and development. Expanding Manus’s training datasets, improving multi-language support, and refining task-switching capabilities rank high on Butterfly Effect’s roadmap for the next 12 months.
Moreover, Butterfly Effect recognizes the importance of global localization. Executives intend to adapt Manus’s interface and output styles to better suit regional preferences. In Japan, for example, Manus will integrate more formal communication protocols, while Middle Eastern markets may require Arabic language fluency and culturally specific workflows.
The competitive landscape for agentic AI continues to evolve rapidly. Since Manus’s debut, more than a dozen companies worldwide have announced plans to develop autonomous agents. However, few have demonstrated the same blend of functionality and independence that Manus showcased in its launch phase.
Butterfly Effect’s success story also underlines the shifting dynamics of global venture capital. In a world where American dominance in AI once seemed assured, Chinese startups like Butterfly Effect and DeepSeek now command the attention—and funding—of top Silicon Valley investors. Cross-border partnerships increasingly define the next era of technological competition.
Manus’s trajectory will likely shape broader debates around innovation, regulation, and competition in AI. As it scales operations abroad, Butterfly Effect faces regulatory scrutiny, data privacy concerns, and the technical challenge of delivering a “truly autonomous” user experience at scale.
Nevertheless, with a bold vision, strong financial backing, and an aggressive market entry strategy, Butterfly Effect and Manus seem determined to carve out a global niche in the AI agent revolution.