Chinese start-up Monica has released an artificial intelligence (AI) agent called Manus, eliciting speculation about another “DeepSeek moment”. Manus is presented as the world's first truly general AI agent. Examples showcased on the official website demonstrate its ability to independently think, plan, and execute complex tasks, delivering complete results. According to the company's official website, “Manus is a general AI agent that bridges minds and actions: it doesn't just think, it delivers results. Manus excels at various tasks in work and life, getting everything done while you rest.” The AI agent has a wide range of applications, from creating a custom guidebook for a trip to deeply analyzing Tesla's stock. On the GAIA benchmark for evaluating General AI Assistants on solving real-world problems, Manus achieved new state-of-the-art performances across all three difficulty levels. According to the team, Manus achieved State-of-the-Art (SOTA) results in the GAIA benchmark test, surpassing OpenAI's models of the same level.
The name “Manus” comes from the famous motto “Mens et Manus,” “Mind and Hand” in English. It embodies the belief that knowledge must be applied to make a meaningful impact on the world. A video on X introducing Manus was viewed more than 370,000 times just 20 hours after being posted. Ji Yichao, Co-founder and Chief Scientist of Manus AI, stated in a video “for the past year, we've been quietly building what we believe is the next evolution in AI, and today we're launching an early preview of Manus, the first general AI agent. This isn't just another chatbot or workflow, it's a truly autonomous agent that bridges the gap between conception and execution. We see it as the next paradigm of human-machine collaboration, and potentially a glimpse into AGI,” Ji said.
Currently, access to the application is limited, and users need an invitation code to use it. Prices for these codes range wildly from CNY999 to CNY50,000, with some sellers explicitly refusing to negotiate, citing the code's extreme scarcity. Zhang Tao, Partner at Manus AI, responded in a post, explaining that the invitation system was necessary due to limited server capacity. He added the development team hoped to allow more users on the waitlist to experience Manus soon. Zhang also urged the public to be more understanding and supportive of a start-up with only a few dozen team members. The founding team of Monica includes Xiao Hong, a serial entrepreneur and 2015 graduate of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, the Global Times reports.
