Is Manus 'more like human being' than traditional AI chatbots?
What's the story
Butterfly Effect has shaken up the LLM market with its general-purpose AI agent, Manus.
Unlike traditional chatbots like ChatGPT, Manus focuses on wider array of applications.
It can devise a trip itinerary, provide in-depth analysis of stocks, and offer real-estate tips based on a family's requirements.
Red Xiao Hong, founder of Butterfly Effect, describes Manus as an AI agent that "is more like a human being." He touts its capability to interact with its environment and use feedback for improvement.
Advancement
Manus can create custom websites
Backed by Tencent Holdings, Chinese start-up Butterfly Effect caught the AI community's attention at home and abroad. This was following an invitation-only online preview last week, where it showcased Manus's ability to execute various practical tasks, such as creating a custom website.
Technology foundation
Manus built on existing LLMs
Manus has been built on existing LLMs, including Anthropic's Claude and fine-tuned variants of Alibaba Group Holding's Qwen, Butterfly Effect's co-founder and chief scientist Peak Ji Yichao revealed.
This approach aligns with the trend among Chinese tech companies to focus more on real-world applications powered by AI.
Robin Li Yanhong, Baidu's co-founder, Chairman, and CEO, also advocated for this shift during a panel discussion at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai last year.
Ongoing progress
Manus's development continues despite limited availability
Despite the limited availability of Manus, its capabilities have been validated by outperforming OpenAI's Deep Research based on the GAIA benchmark, a third-party measure of general AI assistants.
"The current invite-only mechanism is due to limited server capacity at this stage," explained Zhang Tao, Manus product partner.
He further clarified that "the current version of Manus is still in its infancy, far from what we aim to deliver in our final product."
Start-up story
Butterfly Effect's journey and team
Butterfly Effect was founded two months before ChatGPT's 2022 launch. Its first product was an AI assistant called Monica.
The start-up's team also includes Peak Ji Yichao, who was featured in Forbes China's "30 Under 30" rankings in 2012 and 2013.
Ji founded Peak Labs in 2012 with investment from ZhenFund and Sequoia China, which has since been spun off as HongShan.