Understanding Manus: The World’s First Fully Autonomous AI Agent from China
A newly developed artificial intelligence agent from China, known as Manus, is gaining significant attention in the AI sector due to its capacity to manage intricate, real-world tasks effectively.
Created by a discreet team and funded by Chinese investors and developers, Manus is currently available for a select few users through an invitation-only web preview. A demonstration on its website, manus.im, illustrates how it can build a customized website step by step.
Newsweek reached out to Manus through its platform for further insights.
Importance of Manus in the AI Landscape
China has been leading several significant advancements in artificial intelligence, particularly in 2025. The introduction of DeepSeek earlier this year was labeled a “Sputnik moment” for AI development in the United States, indicating that China can create effective Large Language Models (LLMs) at a fraction of the cost compared to American counterparts. Manus demonstrates that such innovations are not isolated incidents and can occur consistently.
Key Features of Manus
According to its website, Manus specializes in addressing complex, real-world challenges. Some illustrative tasks include:
- Creating trip itineraries for Japan
- Conducting in-depth analyses of Tesla’s stock performance
- Developing interactive teaching materials for middle school educators
- Comparing different insurance policies
- Assisting in sourcing suppliers for businesses
Furthermore, Manus claims to surpass OpenAI’s Deep Research in performance based on the GAIA benchmark, a recognized standard for evaluating AI assistants.
Although little is known about Manus’ corporate structure and the team behind its development, the AI’s capabilities have sparked considerable interest. The demo video released on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) quickly attracted over 200,000 views within just one day.
The Future of General-Purpose AI
This rising interest in Manus resembles the excitement that followed the launch of DeepSeek’s R1 reasoning model. General-purpose AI agents are anticipated to revolutionize AI applications by enabling more robust interactions with their environments, data collection, and independent task management towards specific goals.
The demo indicates that Manus can autonomously browse various websites, utilize multiple functions, and exhibit its workflow in real time. The developers describe it as “a general AI agent that connects thoughts and actions; it not only thinks but also delivers tangible results.”
Meet the Team Behind Manus
Presenting the demo, Ji Yichao, the 33-year-old entrepreneur behind the creation, emphasized that Manus should not be viewed as merely another chatbot. “This is a fully autonomous agent that bridges the gap between ideas and execution. While many AI systems may only generate concepts, Manus translates those ideas into real-world outcomes,” he stated.
Next Steps for Manus
Currently, Manus operates within an invitation-only framework, although plans for a more extensive launch to the public are anticipated in the future.
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