Benchmark, the US venture capital giant that has backed tech giants such as Uber and Twitter, has led a $75 million funding in Chinese startup Manus AI. The huge funding has valued Manus AI at around $500 million—five times its earlier $10 million valuation. Manus AI, developed by the Butterfly Effect company, is making waves in the artificial intelligence sector with its general-purpose AI agents.Â
These sophisticated digital personal assistants can perform all sorts of daily tasks ranging from resume screening and travel reservations to stock analysis, all by way of simple user inputs.
This round of funding attracted not only Benchmark’s attention but also participation by current investors such as Tencent Holdings Ltd. and HSG (formerly Sequoia China). This combination of Chinese and international investors is proof of the extremely high degree of confidence that Manus AI’s market potential and technology have worldwide.
“This investment is an important milestone for Manus AI as we continue building our AI agent technology,” would say one at Butterfly Effect. “With backing from top-tier investors like Benchmark, we’re well placed to take our services global.”
Manus AI Aims to Rival OpenAI Globally Despite Mixed Early Reviews
In March 2025, Manus AI demonstrated its capabilities by performing a presentation that allegedly bested OpenAI’s just-released Deep Research AI in multiple areas. The firm pointed to its high-end task planning and execution capabilities as a top competitor in the burgeoning AI agent space.
With the new capital, Butterfly Effect plans to extend Manus AI’s reach outside of China to major overseas markets, such as the United States, Japan, and the Middle East. The strategy is to make Manus a global player in a rapidly developing field where other major Chinese tech giants like ByteDance Ltd. and Baidu Inc. have also debuted their respective AI platforms.
The firm has already started to monetize its technology through subscription tiers. Subscribers can pay the services of Manus AI at a basic tier of $39 a month, and a premium tier for $199 a month. Â
The tiers position Manus squarely in competition with the likes of OpenAI’s ChatGPT Pro, albeit at a slightly more aggressive price point given that the product is in beta testing stage.
In spite of the hype surrounding Manus AI technology, early user reviews present a mixed picture. While some have called the AI agent revolutionary, others have faced bugs and incompleteness during testing.Â
Benchmark Backs Manus AI in Shifting Global AI Landscape
As with the case of most other new AI technologies, Manus is confronted with the challenge of enhancing reliability and performance in an attempt to keep up with the demands of a high-strung global user base.
“The initial response has been good, but we’re aware that more work needs to be done,” an expert in trade can declare. “With Manus expanding operations globally, rectifying these initial performance problems will be key to future success.”
Manus AI’s growth mirrors the more sophisticated global AI market. Chinese companies such as Manus and DeepSeek are gaining momentum and attracting huge investments, challenging the conventional U.S. leadership in sophisticated AI technologies. The change mirrors a more globalized, competitive AI innovation landscape in the future.
Benchmark’s leadership in this round is especially significant because it is a vote of confidence by the venture capital firm most respected in Silicon Valley. The investment reflects the increasing willingness of American investors to invest in promising AI startups across geographical locations, particularly those with disruptive technologies for artificial intelligence.
As Manus AI continues on its path to expanding globally, business analysts will closely watch the ways in which the company will further refine its technology and consolidate its market dominance. Success or failure of the endeavor will carry broader implications for cross-border collaboration and competition in the fast-developing arena of artificial intelligence.
