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Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Butterfly Effect, the parent company of the AI-agent service Manus, has completed a funding round of more than $500 million, according to reports by TechCrunch and Reuters dated October 8, 2026. The round was co-led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital. The company’s October announcement, as reported, did not disclose a valuation. The raise comes after Chinese authorities ordered Meta’s acquisition of Manus withdrawn and Manus returned to independent operations.
Who invested in the new round
TechCrunch and Reuters both name Boyu Capital and IDG Capital as the co-leads. Existing shareholders also participated, including Tencent, HSG (formerly Sequoia China), and ZhenFund, along with other unnamed investors. Because the parent company’s announcement is the source for the round, the amount and participant list should be read as the company’s reported account, relayed by those two news organizations.
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What the round does not tell us: valuation
The October reports do not state a valuation for the completed round. Any number you see for Manus’s worth in this period should be checked against its date and source. The only valuation figure in the coverage is a $4 billion target from September, and it was not a confirmed result.
The $4 billion figure was a target, not a result
On September 18, 2026, TechCrunch reported, citing the Wall Street Journal and anonymous sources, that Manus was in talks to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation. That was a reported goal during negotiations. The October reports confirm that the round exceeded $500 million, but they do not say whether the final terms matched the September talks, including the valuation. Treat $4 billion as the figure reported for those talks, not as the valuation of the closed round.
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How the Meta acquisition was unwound
December 2025: the deal is announced
Meta announced in December 2025 that it was acquiring Manus. Meta did not disclose the price. The Associated Press reported that the Wall Street Journal put the deal above $2 billion, and that figure remains a press-reported estimate rather than a company disclosure.
April 27, 2026: the Chinese order
China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said it had decided to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project and required the parties to withdraw the acquisition. TechCrunch reproduced the order’s wording:
“The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has made a decision to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project in accordance with laws and regulations, and has required the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction.”
The order did not include a detailed public rationale in the coverage. AP and TechCrunch describe a background of geopolitical and technology-transfer concerns, but those are observers’ interpretations and should not be read as the regulator’s stated reasons. Meta responded through a spokesperson: “The transaction complied fully with applicable law. We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry.”
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Return to independent operations
After the withdrawal order, Manus operated as an independent company again, and Butterfly Effect’s financing followed. The coverage reviewed does not describe the terms of the separation beyond the user data process below.
The user data transition
Manus published a user notice titled “A Note to Our Users” on August 11, 2026. It said that certain data generated on or after December 29, 2025 would be deleted during a window from August 23 through August 24, 2026 (Singapore time), with backup and restoration periods around it. The company tied the step to the separation from Meta, saying: “This is part of our separation from Meta; we must take this step to comply with regulatory requirements in specific parts of the world.”
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Those backup and restoration windows have now passed. The dates are historical details of how the separation was handled, not current instructions. Users who need to know what happened to their own data should refer to the original notice.
The figures at a glance
Funding, valuation, acquisition price, and revenue are different measures, and the coverage uses each for a different purpose. The table below separates them by status and source.
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| Figure | Amount | Status | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completed funding round | More than $500 million | Completed, as announced by Butterfly Effect | TechCrunch and Reuters, October 8, 2026 |
| Valuation of the completed round | Not stated | Not disclosed in the October reports | TechCrunch and Reuters, October 8, 2026 |
| Target valuation during talks | $4 billion | Reported target during fundraising talks, not confirmed | TechCrunch, citing the Wall Street Journal and anonymous sources, September 18, 2026 |
| Meta acquisition price | More than $2 billion | Not disclosed by Meta; press-reported figure | AP, citing the Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2025 |
| Annual recurring revenue | $100 million | Company-announced threshold reached before the acquisition; historical, not current | AP, December 30, 2025 |
What is still unclear
- The valuation of the completed round, which the October reports do not state.
- Whether the final round’s terms matched the September talks reported at $4 billion.
- The regulator’s full reasoning. The published order gives the decision and the instruction to withdraw, without a detailed explanation.
- Current revenue. The $100 million figure is a pre-acquisition company announcement and does not describe the business today.
What Manus does
Manus is a digital AI-agent service. Reporting describes its capabilities as covering research, automation, coding, app and website building, design, presentations, and video. The funding news concerns the software company itself; no physical product is involved.
The short version
Manus, through parent company Butterfly Effect, has reported a completed funding round of more than $500 million, co-led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital. The company has not disclosed the valuation of that round in the October coverage. The $4 billion figure belongs to the September talks, and the Meta acquisition ended after China ordered it withdrawn, with the separation including a historical data transition for certain users.
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