Manus

Manus released Manus 2.0 on September 28, 2026. It runs on a new system called Cascade, which starts each task light and only pulls in extra tools once the task actually needs them. In one tested setup, this cut token use by about 23%, finished tasks 28% faster, and lowered the cost per task by 32% compared to the old system. The update also adds Cloud Computer, a persistent hosted environment for long-running projects, and Automations, tasks that start on their own when something happens in a connected app like email, Slack, or Notion. The desktop app is now called Manus Studio and adds new video editing and game development modes.

Security researchers at Salt Labs found a way to hide an instruction inside an email using an obfuscated code trick, so Manus would carry it out before its safety filter could catch it. The hidden instruction let the researchers open a shell inside a victim's Manus session and pull out login credentials and tokens for any outside app connected to that account, such as Gmail, Drive, or GitHub. Salt Labs reported the flaw to Manus directly and got no response, but a report filed through Meta's bug bounty program, left over from Manus's earlier partnership with Meta, got the issue triaged, confirmed, and patched.

Bloomberg reported on September 17, 2026 that Manus's parent company, Butterfly Effect, is in talks to raise about $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, roughly double its earlier $2 billion mark. This would be Manus's first fundraising since Chinese regulators ordered it to unwind its acquisition path with Meta earlier in 2026. Tencent is already the largest external backer, having taken over Benchmark's former stake when it helped unwind the Meta deal, and is among the existing investors reportedly involved in these new round talks alongside HSG and ZhenFund. If the round closes, Manus would become China's most valuable agentic AI startup. Nothing is final yet: this is a funding target, not a signed deal.

On September 1, 2026, Manus said it has fully resumed independent operations now that the blocked Meta deal is completely unwound. The founding team, Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao, and Zhang Tao, remains in charge. The company says its next focus is fitting deeper into daily workflows, working more directly with the real world, and taking more action on users' behalf without being asked each time.

On August 11, 2026, Manus said it was splitting from Meta, which had bought it back in December 2025. To follow certain regulations, Manus deleted some users' data from the Meta period and paused access from August 23-25, though it gave people tools to back up their data first. Manus says new features are on the way.