In Beijing, Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus achieved a milestone by registering its AI assistant for the Chinese market. This achievement was highlighted in a state media broadcast, showcasing Beijing’s strategy of supporting domestic AI companies that have gained recognition overseas.
Chinese investors have been eager to find the next groundbreaking domestic startup after DeepSeek, a company that surprised Silicon Valley with its cost-effective AI models rivaling those of U.S. competitors. Manus has emerged as a contender, generating buzz recently for unveiling what it claims to be the world’s first general AI agent. This AI agent is capable of autonomous decision-making and task execution with minimal prompting compared to existing AI chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
Beijing is signaling its support for Manus by mirroring its response to DeepSeek’s success. State broadcaster CCTV aired a segment on Manus, emphasizing the distinctions between its AI agent and DeepSeek’s AI chatbot. Additionally, the Beijing municipal government announced the registration completion of Monica, an earlier AI assistant product by Manus, meeting the necessary regulatory requirements for generative AI applications in China.
Chinese regulations mandate that generative AI applications adhere to stringent guidelines to prevent the generation of sensitive or harmful content. Manus recently entered into a strategic partnership with the team behind Alibaba’s Qwen AI models, enhancing the potential domestic expansion of its AI agent. Currently, Manus’ AI agent is accessible by invitation only, with a waiting list of 2 million users.
(This story has been corrected to reflect the accurate day of the week as Thursday, not Tuesday, in paragraphs 1, 4, and 5)
