Following the recent buzz around DeepSeek-R1, China is once again making waves in the AI landscape with the launch of Manus, an advanced AI agent developed by the startup Monica. Much like DeepSeek, Manus has quickly gained international attention, with some referring to it as another major milestone for China in the AI race.
Manus stands out for its ability to perform complex real-world tasks independently. Currently available through an invitation-only web preview, the AI agent has demonstrated its capability to execute practical tasks such as step-by-step website creation. The company showcased a demo of Manus on its official website (manus.im), and within 20 hours of its release, the AI agent went viral.
What is Manus?
Described as the world’s first truly general AI agent, Manus has shown proficiency in reasoning, planning, and executing tasks autonomously. According to its developers, the AI can generate travel itineraries, conduct stock market analysis, create interactive coursework for educators, and compare insurance policies. It is also claimed to outperform OpenAI’s DeepResearch on the GAIA benchmark, a standard for evaluating general AI assistants.
Designed to function across multiple industries, Manus offers autonomous operations and asynchronous cloud-based capabilities. Users can assign tasks and disconnect their devices while Manus continues processing in the cloud, delivering results once completed. Over time, it adapts to user preferences, enhancing its efficiency and personalization.
On Wednesday night, the company shared a demo video on X, which amassed over 200,000 views by noon the next day. Many users have been requesting invitation codes to access the AI agent. The excitement surrounding Manus mirrors the enthusiasm generated by DeepSeek R1, an AI model that was reportedly developed at a significantly lower cost than similar models from OpenAI, Meta, and Google.
As China continues to push boundaries in AI innovation, Manus is emerging as another key player in the evolving global AI landscape.
