Manus responded to the rumors of layoffs: The decision was made due to considerations for its own operational efficiency, and adjustments were made to certain business teams.

AI Agent (Intelligent Agent) Platform Manus responds to layoff rumors.
On July 8th, regarding the company’s large-scale layoff rumors, Manus responded to The Paper with a statement: “Based on our own operational efficiency considerations, we have decided to adjust some business teams. The company will continue to focus on core business development and enhance overall operational efficiency.”
Previously, information on social media indicated that Manus had recently laid off some of its domestic operations and relocated core technical personnel to Singapore’s headquarters. Currently, the total number of employees in China is around 120. In June this year, Zhang Tao, the product manager at Manus, publicly stated that the company had moved its headquarters from China to Singapore.
In March this year, the startup Butterfly Effect released an early preview version of AI assistant Manus, calling it “the world’s first universal intelligent agent product.” From the introduction, users only need to give Manus a simple command, and it can automatically complete complex tasks. At the time, access to Manus required invite codes for internal testing, sparking a trend on social media for “requesting invite codes”.
On May 13th, Manus announced registration availability, offering all users a one-time reward of 1000 points, along with free daily rewards of 300 points for performing a task. Regarding pricing, Manus offers three plans: a basic plan priced at $19 per month, a Plus plan priced at $39 per month, and a Pro plan priced at $199 per month. Many netizens believe the pricing of Manus’s plans is high.
In May this year, foreign media reported that the company behind Manus, Butterfly Effect (Hong Kong) Limited, raised $75 million in a round led by Benchmark Capital, valued at $500 million. However, this investment is under review by the U.S. Treasury Department.
Tianyancha shows that Butterfly Effect (Hong Kong) Limited, the company behind Manus, was established in Hong Kong in 2023 and holds 100% actual control over Beijing Red Butterfly Technology Co., Ltd. The latter was founded by Xiao Hong in 2022 and launched the AI browser plugin Monica targeting overseas markets. The legal representative is Feng Qionghua. Change records show that Xiao Hong exited as a shareholder of the company in March 2023.