China’s latest AI agent Manus captures global attention... - Global Times

Following the DeepSeek wave, Chinese startup Monica's new AI agent, Manus, has captured global attention immediately after its preview launch. Manus is described as a general-purpose AI agent that can independently think, plan, and execute complex tasks, delivering complete results. According to the company, Manus achieved state-of-the-art (SOTA) results on the GAIA benchmark, demonstrating performance that surpasses OpenAI's models of the same level. The agent's applications range from creating custom travel guidebooks to deeply analyzing Tesla's stock, showcasing its versatility.

The hype around Manus has been immense. In just two days, it garnered widespread foreign media coverage, with some comparing its popularity to DeepSeek's January launch. However, access is currently limited to invitation-only. Many users have turned to domestic secondhand markets for invitation codes, with prices ranging from $137 to as high as $6,900, and some sellers refusing to negotiate. Monica distanced itself from this market hype, stating the company has no involvement in paid code channels. An employee noted that the limited access is due to insufficient server capacity – the system has been overwhelmed by demand and even subjected to brute-force attacks. Manus is still in internal testing with no confirmed launch date. The project is a joint effort between teams in Beijing and Wuhan, initiated a year ago. The founding team includes Xiao Hong, a serial entrepreneur and 2015 graduate of Huazhong University of Science and Technology. The topic of "Manus' founder being a post-90s Chinese entrepreneur" has attracted over 58 million views on Weibo.