Chinese AI agent developer Manus has officially relocated its headquarters from China to Singapore and laid off parts of its 120-person domestic workforce while transferring over 40 core technical staff to the new Singapore base, according to company statements to Chinese media outlet Sina Finance.
The strategic move comes just four months after Manus's parent company Butterfly Effect PTE. LTD. raised $75 million in funding led by US venture capital firm Benchmark at a $500 million valuation, though the investment is currently under review by the US Treasury Department amid heightened scrutiny of Chinese AI firms.
Manus head of product Zhang Tao publicly confirmed the headquarters relocation in June, with the company stating that business team adjustments were made to "improve operational efficiency" while continuing to focus on developing core AI agent capabilities for complex task execution.
The company, launched in March by founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao from the Monica AI team, has rapidly expanded its general-purpose AI agent platform to include report writing, spreadsheet creation, resume screening, stock analysis, and recently added text-to-video features through partnerships with Alibaba's Qwen team.
The relocation underscores broader trends of Chinese AI startups moving operations overseas amid regulatory uncertainties and international market expansion goals, with Manus actively recruiting in Singapore for positions including data analyst and AI agent engineer roles.
