Manus AI’s ‘de-China’ playbook is a trap


Rebranding bid: The website for the Manus AI agent arranged on a computer in Hong Kong.Manus is doing everything it can to sever any ties to the mainland while its parent company Butterfly Effect reportedly eliminated all its China-based jobs last week. —Bloomberg

WHEN Chinese startup Manus previewed an artificial intelligence (AI) agent earlier this year, it went mega-viral. It came on the heels of DeepSeek, when global excitement over China’s AI breakthroughs was at a fever pitch, and nobody wanted to miss out on the next surprise hit.

Now, Manus is doing everything it can to sever any ties to the mainland. It relocated its headquarters to Singapore, and its three co-founders have made the move abroad as well.

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