China Launches ‘Manus’, New AI Assistant
In a move signaling continued innovation in China’s tech sector, a new AI tool named Manus has been released by a Chinese startup. This new entrant is generating considerable interest, with some observers hoping it can replicate the success of DeepSeek, a state-of-the-art chatbot that made waves earlier this year.
Manus is designed as an AI agent capable of performing a wider range of actions than a typical chatbot. Its website claims it can handle tasks from analyzing the stock market to generating personalized travel handbooks based on user input.
Key Features and Capabilities
Released last week by the Chinese startup Butterfly Effect, Manus has rapidly gained attention. An introductory video, which has since gone viral, features co-founder Yichao “Peak” Ji hailing it as a step toward “the next paradigm of human-machine collaboration, and potentially a glimpse into AGI,” referring to artificial general intelligence.
Currently accessible only by invitation, Manus has already amassed significant traction, with its official Discord server exceeding 170,000 members. The name ‘Manus’ is derived from the Latin phrase “Mens et Manus”, meaning “mind and hand,” reflecting its capacity to integrate knowledge with practical application.
Contrasting Manus with Competitors
According to Manoj Harjani, a research fellow at Singapore’s S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Manus distinguishes itself from competitors such as DeepSeek and ChatGPT. “DeepSeek and ChatGPT differ from Manus in that they provide responses to prompts from users through a chat-style interface, whereas Manus is able to execute tasks such as booking tickets and sorting through resumes,” he explained.
While DeepSeek was developed discreetly before its public unveiling, Manus is taking a different approach, restricting access to an invite-only beta and targeting enterprise-level clients. Marina Zhang, an associate professor at the University of Technology Sydney’s Australia-China Relations Institute, noted that while this exclusivity could generate interest, it might also limit widespread adoption. She suggested Manus might struggle to achieve the broad appeal of DeepSeek, which built a strong community through open-source engagement, if it maintains a closed ecosystem.
Performance and Censorship
When tested using an invitation code, Manus took longer than DeepSeek to generate responses, but it was able to complete more complex tasks, such as creating custom websites, more effectively than its Chinese rival or ChatGPT. Notably, Manus provided unfiltered and accurate responses to questions on sensitive topics, including the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown and allegations of human rights abuses in Xinjiang. The program stated it does not intentionally censor factual information, aiming to offer balanced and objective information on complex subjects.
Li Jianggan, founder of Momentum Works, a Singapore-based consultancy, suggests Manus’s approach could be due to its focus on task execution, with content control not as rigorously implemented as in tools like DeepSeek and ChatGPT.
Future Prospects
Whether Manus can achieve the mainstream success of DeepSeek will depend on its ability to scale to meet demand, according to RSIS’s Harjani. However, he cautioned that Manus is unlikely to be the next DeepSeek, given their differing AI applications. The ability to grow would depend on “adequate computing power and effective handling of potential challenges such as technical stability and ethical or regulatory considerations,” Zhang stated, adding that should Manus succeed in addressing these issues it could become a major player in enterprise automation.
Li suggested that it’s “far from perfect”. The development team may still be working to make continued improvements to the platform, as it is using real world applications. Whether successful or not, its future is an open question.
