Chinese AI startup Manus took a major step toward domestic expansion
on Thursday by registering its China-facing AI assistant and making its first appearance on state media, signaling Beijing’s growing support for homegrown AI innovators.
Following the surprise success of China’s DeepSeek, which developed AI models rivaling U.S. counterparts at a fraction of the cost, investors have been searching for the next domestic AI disruptor. Many now see Manus as a strong contender. The company recently gained global attention on X by unveiling what it claims to be the world’s first general AI agent—an advanced system capable of making decisions and performing tasks autonomously with minimal user input, unlike chatbots such as ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
Beijing appears poised to back Manus, similar to its support for DeepSeek. On Thursday, China’s state broadcaster CCTV featured the startup for the first time, airing a segment explaining the differences between Manus’ AI agent and DeepSeek’s chatbot. Additionally, the Beijing municipal government confirmed that a Chinese version of Manus’ AI assistant, Monica, had successfully completed regulatory registration, a key requirement for generative AI applications in China.
China mandates strict compliance for AI applications to ensure content aligns with government regulations and avoids sensitive topics. Manus is also strengthening its industry ties, recently announcing a strategic partnership with the team behind Alibaba’s Qwen AI models. This collaboration is expected to accelerate the domestic rollout of Manus’ AI agent, which is currently invite-only and has a waiting list of two million users.
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