Manus reportedly in talks to raise $500M at $4B valuation after Meta split

Manus in talks for $500 million round

Manus, the Chinese AI startup whose agent demo spread widely last year, is in discussions to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing anonymous sources. TechCrunch, which relayed the report, said the company did not respond to a request for comment.

The talks land shortly after Manus said this month that it has resumed operating independently, with its founding team continuing to lead the business.

Potential investors named by the Journal include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital and battery maker Contemporary Amperex Technology, alongside existing backers Tencent, HSG and Zhenfund. The report also says Manus is weighing a restructuring exercise to prepare for an IPO in Hong Kong.

A deal Meta could not keep

The fundraising effort follows an unusual arc for the startup. Manus relocated its staff to Singapore in mid-2025 and announced a $2 billion acquisition by Meta that December. At the time, the company was reportedly generating more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue.

The deal never closed. According to TechCrunch, mounting concern within China about AI talent and researchers heading to the West culminated in Beijing blocking the transaction, citing potential violations of export controls and foreign investment rules.

Since then, Manus has been untangling itself from the American social media company. Its early investors and backers have reportedly helped it buy back its shares at a valuation of around $2 billion, roughly the price Meta had agreed to pay.

The separation has had practical consequences for users as well. In August, Manus told customers they would need to export and back up their own data, because the company had to delete data generated following Meta's acquisition in order to comply with regulatory requirements in specific jurisdictions.

What Manus sells

Manus builds AI products that overlap heavily with those from OpenAI, Lovable and Replit. Its catalogue includes a chatbot, vibe-coding tools for building apps and websites, features for creating designs and presentations, video generation and a browser assistant.

Why it matters

A $4 billion valuation would be double the roughly $2 billion at which backers helped Manus repurchase its shares, signalling renewed confidence in a company whose ownership was left in limbo when its agreed exit collapsed.

The episode also shows how geopolitics now shapes AI dealmaking. A transaction both parties had signed up to was stopped by regulators over export-control and foreign-investment concerns, forcing a startup to unwind an acquisition and rebuild itself as an independent business, deleting user data generated under its former parent along the way.

The reported interest in a Hong Kong listing points to a capital-raising path for Chinese AI firms closer to home, at a moment when sales to Western buyers face official scrutiny. And with Manus competing head-on with OpenAI, Lovable and Replit in agents and app building, a $500 million round would give it meaningful firepower in a crowded field.