Chinese artificial intelligence startup Manus has registered its AI assistant for the domestic market and made its debut in a state media broadcast, underscoring Beijing's strategy to promote homegrown AI firms that have gained international recognition.
Chinese investors have been actively seeking the next domestic startup with the potential to disrupt the global tech landscape, especially since the country has begun releasing AI models that rival those of U.S. competitors at a fraction of the cost.
Manus recently gained attention on X by unveiling what it claims to be the world’s first general AI agent, capable of making autonomous decisions and executing tasks with significantly less prompting than traditional AI chatbots like ChatGPT and DeepSeek.
Support for Manus' rollout in China is becoming apparent, as state broadcaster CCTV dedicated coverage to the company, highlighting the differences between its AI agent and DeepSeek's chatbot.
Additionally, Beijing’s municipal government announced that a Chinese version of Manus' earlier AI assistant, Monica, has completed the registration process required for generative AI applications in China, a significant regulatory milestone.
Chinese regulators mandate that all generative AI applications operating in the country adhere to stringent guidelines aimed at preventing the generation of content deemed sensitive or harmful by the government.
Last week, Manus also announced a partnership with the team behind Alibaba's Qwen AI models, which could enhance the domestic rollout of its AI agent. Currently, access to this agent is limited to users with invite codes, and there is a waiting list of 2 million.