Chinese Startup Behind Manus AI Agent Seeks $500 Million Valuation

The Chinese startup that operates Manus, the artificial intelligence agent that became a viral hit in the U.S. earlier this month, is in talks with potential investors including U.S. venture capital firms to raise a new funding round at a valuation of at least $500 million, up around fivefold from its previous valuation, according to three people with knowledge of the talks. 

Manus, a computer-using AI agent that browses many websites to execute tasks like travel booking and stock analysis, attracted attention among tech executives and AI developers on X and other social media sites just days after its March beta launch. The hype around Manus stemmed in part from growing U.S. interest in Chinese-made AI products thanks to the huge success of DeepSeek.