Butterfly Effect

Butterfly Effect is an AI company founded in 2022, headquartered in Singapore. The company was founded by Xiao Hong (CEO), Ji Yichao (chief scientist), and Zhang Tao, originally based in China before relocating to Singapore in mid-2025 following its Series B funding.

Its flagship product, Manus, is an autonomous AI agent launched in March 2025 that independently plans, researches, writes code, and delivers finished outputs across tasks including design, content creation, and workflow automation. The product reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue within eight months of launch, and serves use cases ranging from competitive research to document generation.

Butterfly Effect raised a $75 million Series B in April 2025 led by Benchmark, valuing the company at approximately $500 million, with participation from Tencent and HongShan Capital (formerly Sequoia China). Meta announced an acquisition for a reported $2+ billion in December 2025; China's National Development and Reform Commission blocked the transaction in April 2026, and Meta severed ties in June 2026, leaving Butterfly Effect independent. The company employs approximately 100 people, primarily based in Singapore.