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Physix Frontier · News Briefing Card (IT Home · Oct 8, 2026)

Manus parent Butterfly Effect raises over $500M, Tencent and Sequoia back again

KEY FACTS

  • Butterfly Effect closed a new funding round of over $500 million, led by Boyu Capital and IDG Capital.
  • Existing shareholders including Tencent, Sequoia China, and ZhenFund participated again in this round.
  • In June 2025, Manus moved its headquarters to Singapore and ceased services and operations within China.
  • Regulators had blocked a foreign acquisition of the Manus project and demanded the deal be unwound.
  • The founding team and existing shareholders bought back all shares from Meta at a $2 billion valuation, and in August announced they were spinning off from Meta to operate independently.

KEY DATA

Over $500 millionFunding raised this round
$2 billionBuyback valuation
October 8, 2026Funding announcement date

PHYSIX OBSERVATION

From relocating and cutting ties, to a blocked acquisition, to a buyback and independence, Manus has now raised over $500 million—its capital path has shifted entirely overseas. Tencent has moved from shareholder to largest outside institutional investor, showing that domestic capital never truly left, it just changed how it holds its stake. For users, the service's center of gravity is now firmly overseas, and a return to China is unlikely in the near term.

Source: IT Home report