Latest news with #ZhangTao
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Business
- Malay Mail
China-born AI firm Manus moves HQ to Singapore amid scrutiny over US chip curbs, national security review
SINGAPORE, July 10 — The team behind Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) agent Manus has reportedly relocated its global headquarters to Singapore, fuelling speculation that the move was driven by a need to sidestep US export controls on advanced semiconductor chips. Manus AI co-founder and chief product officer Zhang Tao confirmed the relocation during a keynote session at the SuperAI conference in Singapore last month, adding that the company also has offices in Tokyo and California. 'This company right now is headquartered in Singapore,' South China Morning Post reported, quoting Zhang. The company's website also identifies Singapore as its global headquarters. Originally developed in China by start-up Butterfly Effect, Manus gained international attention following its invite-only launch in March, and is seen as a prominent example of China's AI innovation alongside DeepSeek. Manus has denied that its move was related to chip access, stating it does not develop large language models (LLMs) and thus does not require advanced Nvidia chips. The US Treasury Department is reportedly reviewing a US$75 million funding round led by California-based venture capital firm Benchmark, examining whether it falls under new investment rules targeting AI technologies that may pose national security concerns. Singapore's strategic position has made it a preferred base for several China-linked tech firms amid rising US-China tensions, potentially offering Manus better access to American investors and clients. Butterfly Effect remains based in China, according to Singaporean daily Lianhe Zaobao, though the Manus team has begun recruiting in Singapore for roles including data analysts and AI engineers, with salaries ranging from US$8,000 to US$18,000 per month. Other Chinese AI companies, including HeyGen and have also sought to expand overseas, relocating to the US to avoid regulatory constraints. Manus' expansion comes as it faces declining user engagement, with monthly active users falling from 20 million in March to about 10 million in May, amid increased competition from Chinese tech giants like ByteDance and Baidu.
CNA
7 days ago
- Business
- CNA
Chinese firm behind AI agent Manus relocates to Singapore amid US chip curbs
The team behind Chinese general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) agent Manus has relocated its headquarters to Singapore, stoking speculation that the move was aimed at facilitating easier access to Nvidia chips amid US export controls to China. 'This company right now is headquartered in Singapore,' Manus AI co-founder and chief product officer Zhang Tao revealed during a keynote session at the SuperAI conference in Singapore on Jun 18. He added that the firm also had offices in Tokyo and California. The 'About Us' section on Manus' website also lists its global headquarters as Singapore. Manus, developed in China by start-up Butterfly Effect, has captured significant attention within the global AI community since its invite-only launch in early March. The AI agent's ability to handle complex tasks has positioned it as a leading symbol of AI innovation in China, following the success of DeepSeek. But like many Chinese tech firms, Manus AI faces challenges in obtaining advanced chips from Nvidia to train its algorithms. Its Chinese ties have also come under scrutiny in Washington. The US Treasury Department was reviewing a US$75 million financing round into Manus AI, led by California-based venture capital firm Benchmark, according to a report from news website Semafor last week. Authorities were investigating whether the financial backing – which had boosted Manus' valuation five-fold to nearly US$500 million, according to a Bloomberg report in April – fell under new restrictions requiring any American entity or individual to notify the Treasury Department of investments into AI that could harm US interests. A presence in Singapore could help the start-up access US clients and funding. Singapore has emerged as a strategic location for Chinese-linked tech firms seeking to navigate Sino-US tensions. Fast-fashion giant Shein, for example, has highlighted its Singapore location even as it continues to run a vast supplier network in China. Similarly, TikTok has based its operations in Singapore to maintain a distance from Beijing-based parent ByteDance. While Manus AI has found a new home in Singapore, Butterfly Effect is still based in China, according to a report last month by Singaporean newspaper Lianhe Zaobao. Manus AI did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The company is not alone in its shift towards overseas markets. Other AI firms, such as HeyGen – which originated from China and relocated to the US last year – and – founded by former Baidu employees in the US – are pursuing similar strategies. Manus AI has begun recruiting in Singapore, offering openings such as data analyst and AI agent engineer, according to its website. Monthly salaries range from US$8,000 to US$16,000, with some positions reaching up to US$18,000, according to local recruitment platform MyCareersFuture. The expansion efforts came as AI agent Manus experienced a significant drop in monthly active users, from about 20 million in March to around 10 million in May, according to Chinese media reports. That decline coincided with growing competition from major Chinese tech companies, including ByteDance and Baidu, which have launched rival products, Coze Space and AgentBuilder, respectively.
South China Morning Post
09-07-2025
- Business
- South China Morning Post
Chinese firm behind AI agent Manus relocates to Singapore amid US chip curbs
The team behind Chinese general-purpose artificial intelligence (AI) agent Manus has relocated its headquarters to Singapore, stoking speculation that the move was aimed at facilitating easier access to Nvidia chips amid US export controls to China. Advertisement 'This company right now is headquartered in Singapore,' Manus AI co-founder and chief product officer Zhang Tao revealed during a keynote session at the SuperAI conference in Singapore on June 18. He added that the firm also had offices in Tokyo and California. The 'About Us' section on Manus' website also lists its global headquarters as Singapore. Manus, developed in China by start-up Butterfly Effect, has captured significant attention within the global AI community since its invite-only launch in early March. The AI agent's ability to handle complex tasks has positioned it as a leading symbol of AI innovation in China, following the success of DeepSeek. Manus AI has been compared to another leading Chinese AI start-up DeepSeek. Photo: Handout But like many Chinese tech firms, Manus AI faces challenges in obtaining advanced chips from Nvidia to train its algorithms. Its Chinese ties have also come under scrutiny in Washington. Advertisement The US Treasury Department was reviewing a US$75 million financing round into Manus AI, led by California-based venture capital firm Benchmark, according to a report from news website Semafor last week.
Fibre2Fashion
14-05-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
25 textile firms from China explore partnership opportunities in Egypt
A Chinese delegation of investors and representatives from around 25 textile and garment companies recently visited Egypt to explore partnership opportunities. It met Egyptian Minister of Public Business Sector Mohamed Shimy, who briefed the representatives about the country's investment potential in the sector. A Chinese delegation from around 25 textile and garment firms recently visited Egypt to explore partnership opportunities. It met Egyptian Minister of Public Business Sector Mohamed Shimy, who briefed it about the country's investment potential. The delegation was presented with a portfolio of high-value products, including yarns, fabrics, garments, home textiles and medical textiles. The Chinese delegation was led by Zhang Tao, deputy marketing director of the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), and Xu Yingxin, vice president of the China Textile Association. The meeting was held at the Cotton, Spinning, Weaving, and Garments Holding Company headquarters in Egypt, according to domestic media reports. The delegation was presented with a portfolio of high-value products, including yarns, fabrics, readymade garments, home textiles and medical textiles produced by the holding company's subsidiaries. The minister highlighted Egypt's recent progress in reviving ginning facilities and developing seven major manufacturing complexes. In December 2024, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announced the completion of the first phase of Egypt's national project to modernise and revitalise the textile industry. The initiative's total cost exceeds EGP 56 billion. Of this, EGP 22 billion has been allocated for infrastructure development, with an additional EGP 640 million invested in cutting-edge machinery and equipment. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) Boosts Gmail With AI-Driven Search—Faster, Smarter Results Coming to All Users
We recently published a list of the In this article, we are going to take a look at where Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) stands against other AI stocks that are catching Wall Street's attention. Beijing is reportedly boosting domestic AI firms that have received overseas recognition. In its latest, the Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus was featured for the first time in a state media broadcast. The company has recently registered its China-facing AI assistant. Manus gained attention in the tech world when it released what it claimed to be the world's first general AI agent. It stated that it could handle complex tasks with much less prompting compared to chatbots from DeepSeek or ChatGPT. READ ALSO: and Investors are celebrating the company as another breakthrough following the low-cost AI models from DeepSeek. However, its availability remained limited after launch. Users aiming to test Manus were frustrated since the product could only be tested with an invitation-only arrangement. Such was the scarcity that critics accused the Manus team of intentionally deploying scarcity marketing tactics. 'The current invite-only mechanism is due to genuinely limited server capacity at this stage.' -Manus AI's product partner Zhang Tao. Nevertheless, Beijing has been supporting Manus' rollout within China, much like its stance on DeepSeek's success. On March 20, State broadcaster CCTV devoted television coverage to Manus for the first time. It published a video on the difference between its AI agent and DeepSeek's AI chatbot. The company has also completed the registration for its AI assistant Monica. Registration is required for generative AI apps in China, with Manus clearing an important regulatory hurdle. All generative AI applications released in China are required to abide by strict rules. These rules exist to ensure that these products do not generate content considered sensitive or damaging by Beijing. Despite its success, Manus has been publicly questioned for the originality of its technology. This is because the product is based on existing large language models (LLMs), whose details the team did not disclose. This is different from the foundation model innovation from DeepSeek. For this article, we selected AI stocks by going through news articles, stock analysis, and press releases. These stocks are also popular among hedge funds. The hedge fund data is as of Q4 2024. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). Photo by Stephen Phillips - on UnsplashAlphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company wholly owning the internet giant Google, amongst other businesses. On March 20, Gmail, Google's free web-based email service, rolled out a smarter search feature powered by AI to show users the most relevant results, faster. The new system will incorporate factors such as recency, click behavior, and frequent contacts to generate 'most relevant' search results. 'Most relevant' search results are being rolled out globally for users with personal Google accounts. They can be accessed on the web and in the official Gmail app for Android and iOS, where users can toggle between 'most relevant' and 'most recent' results. Overall, GOOGL ranks 4th on our list of AI stocks that are catching Wall Street's attention. While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than GOOGL but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.
