Manus Targets $4 Billion Valuation as It Rebuilds Independently After Meta Deal Collapse

Manus is pursuing about $500 million in new financing at a $4 billion valuation, roughly twice the $2 billion level associated with its abandoned Meta transaction. The round would give the Chinese-founded agentic AI startup fresh capital and establish a new benchmark for independent AI companies in China.

The financing is close to completion but remains under negotiation, with terms and investor participation subject to change. Bloomberg first reported the proposed valuation and round, while TechCrunch, The Business Times and The Economic Times described the financing as Manus’s first since its separation from Meta.

Manus is returning to standalone operations after Chinese authorities blocked or unwound Meta’s planned acquisition on national-security grounds. The separation was completed in May, according to AI Weekly, although other accounts describe the company as resuming independent operations later in the year.

The breakup turned a proposed exit into a test of whether Manus could raise capital without Meta’s ownership, distribution and financial support. The company’s new financing process gives existing backers a chance to reaffirm their commitment while placing a market price on Manus after the failed transaction. TradingView and CNBC TV18 connected the financing directly to Beijing’s intervention, while Superpower Daily described the round as part of Manus’s effort to re-establish itself as an independent company.

Tencent Holdings, HongShan and ZhenFund remain associated with Manus, and Tencent is in discussions to become the startup’s largest shareholder. Those investors would give the round continuity after the Meta breakup, even as the company seeks new money and a fresh ownership structure.

The reported financing size is not fully consistent across accounts. Most coverage describes a $500 million raise, while Dealroom lists a $323.5 million Series B, indicating that the final round could involve a smaller initial close, different securities or changing negotiations. Briefs also identified Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund as prospective backers, but investor commitments have not been finalized.

A completed round at $4 billion would make Manus China’s most valuable startup focused on AI agents, according to the reporting. Briefs placed Manus ahead of rival Evoken, which is fundraising at an estimated $3 billion valuation. That comparison reflects the premium investors are placing on software that performs multistep tasks rather than only generating text or images.

The valuation would also make Manus an important domestic counterpoint to large US AI companies and their Chinese competitors. Its ability to attract capital after losing a strategic buyer will be watched by founders whose companies sit between Chinese regulation, global investors and overseas technology partners. The company’s valuation remains contingent on the financing closing at the reported terms.

Manus is also considering a Hong Kong initial public offering, according to TradingView’s account of the Bloomberg report. A listing would offer another route to capital and give the company a public-market identity after its private-market relationship with Meta ended.

The IPO discussion remains separate from the reported funding round and carries different demands, including financial disclosure, regulatory review and sustained revenue growth. Manus’s immediate task is to close the private financing, preserve investor confidence and demonstrate that its agentic AI business can scale without Meta. A successful round would strengthen that case, while delays or revised terms would expose the distance between reported demand and executable financing.

The next milestones are the round’s closing, the final valuation, Tencent’s ownership position and Manus’s operating performance as an independent company. Those details will determine whether the $4 billion figure represents a durable market price or an ambitious target in early-stage negotiations.

Manus also faces a broader strategic test: turning attention around agentic AI into recurring business results. The Meta breakup removed a powerful corporate backer but left Manus with a chance to prove its product, team and customer base can support a large standalone valuation. For China’s AI sector, the financing will show how much private capital is willing to fund agent companies caught between domestic policy and international technology competition.