Manus, the Chinese AI startup that spent months unwinding a blocked acquisition by Meta, is negotiating a $500 million funding round that would value the company at $4 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. The talks mark a return to independent fundraising after Beijing halted the Meta transaction and forced Manus to separate from the American social media giant.
Investors in discussions for the new round include IDG Capital, Boyu Capital, and Contemporary Amperex Technology, along with existing backers Tencent, HSG, and ZhenFund, according to the Journal. Manus is also reported to be weighing a restructuring meant to set up an initial public offering in Hong Kong.
The startup drew wide attention last year after a demo of its AI agent spread online. It moved its staff to Singapore in mid-2025 and then announced a $2 billion acquisition agreement with Meta that December, when it was said to be generating more than $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Chinese authorities ultimately blocked that deal, pointing to possible violations of export controls and foreign investment rules, amid growing concern in China about AI talent and researchers leaving for the West.
Manus has been separating itself from the U.S. company since then, and its early investors and backers reportedly helped it repurchase its shares at a valuation of roughly $2 billion. As part of the split from Meta, Manus told users in August that they would need to export and back up their own data, because it had to erase data generated after the Meta acquisition to satisfy regulatory requirements in certain jurisdictions. The company said this month that it has resumed independent operations and that its founding team will keep leading it.
Manus builds AI products and agents that overlap with offerings from OpenAI, Lovable, and Replit. It provides a chatbot and vibe-coding tools that let users build apps and websites, create designs and presentations, and generate video, among other functions.
The reported fundraising discussions carry weight for U.S. technology watchers because they test whether capital can still flow to a Chinese AI developer whose tie-up with a U.S. acquirer was scuttled on regulatory grounds.
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