Butterfly Effect Raises $75M to Expand Manus AI

The Butterfly Effect, the Beijing-based startup behind the Manus AI service, has secured $75 million in funding led by Benchmark, according to Bloomberg. This investment increases the company's valuation to approximately $500 million, a significant rise from its previous valuation of $100 million.

The funding comes shortly after Butterfly Effect began offering access to Manus, an AI service capable of performing complex tasks such as website development and real-estate research. Manus is powered by large language models from Anthropic PBC, specifically Claude 3.5 Sonnet or Claude 3.7 Sonnet, which are optimized for tasks requiring minimal human input.

With the new capital, Butterfly Effect plans to expand Manus AI into international markets, including the US, Japan, and the Middle East. The company has also introduced paid tiers for Manus, priced at $39 and $199 per month, allowing users to perform multiple tasks simultaneously and access more computing resources.