(Image source: Shutterstock US)
AsianFin -- At an event in Singapore on August 20, Manus co-founder and Chief Scientist Ji Yichao revealed that since its launch in March, the company’s revenue run rate (RRR) has reached $90 million and is “about to hit $100 million.”
Revenue run rate is a projection of annual revenue based on current income levels, often used by fast-growing startups. Ji emphasized the importance of accurate disclosure, noting that annual prepayments for AI products cannot be counted as revenue. Manus founder Xiao Hong said that if calculated incorrectly, the figure could appear to exceed $120 million, but that would not reflect true revenue.
Manus is backed by BUTTERFLY EFFECT, whose flagship product is Monica.im. Its Chinese affiliate, Beijing Butterfly Effect Technology Co., Ltd., was founded in April 2022. The startup closed a Series A funding round in 2024, with investors including Tencent and ZhenFund.
The company publicly launched Manus, touted as the world’s first universal AI agent, in March 2025. Unlike traditional AI assistants, Manus is designed around the concept of “hand-brain collaboration,” enabling it not just to provide advice but to complete tasks such as resume screening, real estate research, and stock analysis. It also achieved state-of-the-art results on the GAIA benchmark, driving widespread industry attention.
The launch initially used an invitation-only model, sparking a frenzy for access. Codes were sold for as much as 100,000 yuan on second-hand platforms like Xianyu and trended on Chinese social media site Weibo.
In June, Manus co-founder Zhang Tao said the company had relocated its headquarters to Singapore. He compared Manus to a new “ChatGPT moment,” arguing that while ChatGPT defined human interaction with large language models, it is not the end state. “Ultimately, the large models people will use should be smarter than 99% of humans,” Zhang said.
