Manus, the AI agent that unexpectedly shot to fame in March of this year, has now drawn the attention of major corporations. On December 30, AI Agent startup Manus made an announcement: it will become part of Meta.

Media reports indicate that Meta has acquired Butterfly Effect, the company behind the AI application Manus, for billions of dollars. This acquisition stands as Meta's third-largest since its inception. Prior to being acquired by Meta, Manus was in the midst of a new funding round, with a valuation of $2 billion.

The message from this event is crystal clear. It underscores not only the significance of agents in the AI ecosystem but also hints at a potential new wave of competition among major companies for agents in the future. This competition will unfold not just at the product level but also at the investment level. After all, if you can't outdo your rivals, why not acquire a mature company to swiftly bolster your capabilities?

When we examine the agent product landscape, aside from Manus itself, the real winner could be MasterAgent. Developed by Shenzhen Shenyuan Artificial Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd., MasterAgent is an L4-level agent matrix system and the world's first multi-agent collaboration platform. Launched in May this year, it is primarily utilized for cross-domain autonomous decision-making in sectors such as finance, healthcare, and government services.

Following Manus's acquisition by Meta, it is anticipated that MasterAgent, which boasts superior technical capabilities and product potential compared to Manus, will witness a substantial increase in value.

Coincidentally, on the same day that Meta acquired Manus, MasterAgent announced its official full-scale launch, introducing paid services and revealing its ambition to set the standard for domestic AI agents.

“Create a Manus in Just Two Minutes!”

Strictly speaking, MasterAgent and Manus are not in the same category.

Manus is essentially a single agent, whereas MasterAgent functions more like an agent 'production factory.' It has the capability to swiftly generate a variety of agents and serve users as an 'agent team.' There is a significant difference between single agents and multi-agent clusters.

In essence, MasterAgent is an agent capable of creating other agents, presenting technical challenges and product values that are on an entirely different level.

Although Manus claims to have no marketing expenses, it certainly knows how to capture the spotlight. From the information about MasterAgent available to the public so far, it appears that the team's expertise lies entirely in technology and products, rather than in tactics that can quickly grab public attention.

While MasterAgent may seem extremely under-the-radar to outsiders, its reputation within the industry has already skyrocketed. AI blogger 'Qiuzhi 2046' once tested and reported that MasterAgent can create a Manus in just two minutes!

On December 30, MasterAgent announced its official full-scale launch, allowing ordinary users to finally get a glimpse of its 'true capabilities.'

The 'Discover Agents' interface of MasterAgent showcases multiple mature agents that users can directly utilize. The 'Report Expert' facilitates research, analysis, and the creation of comprehensive reports spanning tens of thousands of words. The 'Video Director' enables the creation of storyboards based on user requirements, resulting in a 1-minute short video. The 'Art Master' supports the generation of images, advertisements, videos, 3D models, and more. The 'Musician' can generate lyrics and corresponding music. The 'Legal Advisor' provides legal case analysis and contract drafting. The 'Programmer' can create simple static websites. The 'PPT Expert' supports the creation and enhancement of PPTs...

According to the product manager, these agents represent only a fraction of MasterAgent's capabilities. The 'Art Master' agent, in particular, originated from the 174-meter AI digital painting project for the 15th National Games. Now, this technology has been refined into a creative tool accessible to the general public, allowing ordinary users to utilize 'digital brushstrokes' to bring their creative visions to life.

Users can also create agents tailored to their specific needs, quickly assembling an 'agent team.' This 'one-click generation of multi-agent clusters' model is precisely the core advantage of MasterAgent as the world's first L4-level agent matrix system. It aligns perfectly with the industry trend of 'patchwork AGI,' which emphasizes efficient collaboration through specialized divisions of labor rather than relying on a single all-round model. Whether it's the coordinated completion of a business project analysis by the 'Report Expert' and 'Legal Advisor' or the collaborative creation of content by the 'Video Director,' 'Art Master,' and 'Musician,' users can freely combine agents like building blocks, enabling AI agents to perform their respective duties and seamlessly cooperate.

In summary, compared to single agents, agent clusters offer distinct advantages in handling complex tasks:

1. Specialized division of labor and enhanced efficiency. Similar to human teams, agent clusters can automatically break down complex tasks into multiple subtasks, which are then executed in parallel by different agents, thereby reducing task completion time.

2. Overcoming capability limitations. While a single agent may struggle to excel in all areas, a cluster can bring together experts from various fields to jointly tackle cross-domain complex tasks.

3. Improved system reliability. The distributed architecture of agent clusters prevents 'single-point failures,' where the failure of one agent does not lead to the failure of the entire task, as other agents can step in or redistribute the workload.

This framework design represents a breakthrough over the traditional single-agent scheduling model employed by Manus. Consequently, MasterAgent has achieved a significant, potentially exponential, increase in its ability to solve complex tasks...

It is also reported that MasterAgent's deeply integrated knowledge base function is on the verge of launch. This knowledge management platform, built on a large language model knowledge management system, enables unified storage, intelligent retrieval, and structured management of various documents for both individual and enterprise users. It serves as the 'knowledge hub' for efficient agent work, providing precise background knowledge support for agents to execute complex tasks and enhancing the professionalism and reliability of multi-agent collaboration.

Autonomous and Controllable Agents: The Pinnacle of Excellence

Artificial intelligence is often hailed as the 'steam engine of the digital age,' driving and propelling the fourth industrial revolution. Those who can master AI technology will gain a 'generational' advantage in production efficiency.

Conversely, failing to master AI technology will result in a 'generational' lag. Mastering AI inherently requires an autonomous and controllable industrial chain.

In the current geopolitical climate, achieving an autonomous and controllable industrial chain is no easy feat. The experience of Manus relocating out of China serves as a stark reminder that only autonomous and controllable agents are truly reliable—autonomous and controllable funding, technology, core personnel, and supply chain partners.

The research and development team of MasterAgent draws on the scientific research prowess of the University of Science and Technology of China. From the outset of its R&D project, it has prioritized the core demand of 'safety and controllability,' forming a fully localized R&D team. Over several years, it has constructed a fully localized technology stack, encompassing everything from bottom-level chip adaptation and basic architecture construction to core algorithm framework design and training data collection and labeling.

In other words, MasterAgent has completely broken free from dependence on overseas open-source frameworks, core algorithms, and high-end computing power. It is compatible with the mainstream domestic software and hardware ecosystem, forming an 'end-to-end' localized closed-loop capability. MasterAgent has evolved from relying on overseas ecosystems to establishing a fully localized closed loop.

Some AI industry insiders claim that MasterAgent is the only fully localized agent. 'In a certain sense, MasterAgent is also the only product that can be truly called a 'Chinese Agent,'' they assert.

It is often said that AI is synonymous with productivity. For AI to truly become productive, it must integrate with various industries and, inevitably, with the data of those industries. MasterAgent's autonomy and controllability provide reassurance for the intelligence of various industries in terms of privacy security, protection, and policy compliance.

A Potential Massive Value Surge?

With capabilities and values that far surpass those of Manus and perfectly aligning with the domestic regulatory environment, MasterAgent can be considered a rare gem among agent targets in China.

Of course, it is no secret in investment circles that MasterAgent is 'not in need of money.' A senior investor told Baima, 'It's simply impossible to invest.'

The current landscape is that agents have become an indispensable component of AI implementation. Both major corporations and startups are vying for a foothold in this sector. Meta's high-priced acquisition of Manus has only added fuel to the already blazing agent sector.

Therefore, it is expected that MasterAgent's value will soar.

In fact, although MasterAgent's parent company, Shenyuan Artificial Intelligence, is a startup, it has long possessed 'self-generating revenue' capabilities and a proven business model.

Prior to launching MasterAgent, Shenyuan Artificial Intelligence had accumulated extensive experience in professional fields such as law, finance, and healthcare for many years. It had collaborated with hundreds of enterprises, including Haier, GAC Group, BOC International, and Nanyang Commercial Bank, as well as government service agencies like regional customs.

Recently, Shenyuan Artificial Intelligence and Powerway Alloy jointly released a manufacturing industry full-link marketing agent based on the MasterAgent system, achieving 'standardized replication' of sales capabilities in the industry for the first time. By implementing this agent, manufacturing enterprises can standardize sales processes, scale elite capabilities, and systematize experience inheritance, fundamentally transforming the organizational capability building of enterprise sales teams.

It is reported that after completing internal validation, Powerway Alloy and Shenyuan Artificial Intelligence will jointly promote the industry-wide adoption of this solution. It is crucial to note that such capabilities can be replicated across various industries. MasterAgent's agent cluster generation capabilities empower diverse industries, and its growth prospects are limitless.

It is evident that MasterAgent is designed to tackle complex B-end processes, whereas most agent products on the market currently focus on completing simple C-end tasks. The technical complexity is not even comparable.

IDC predicts that by 2026, 50% of China's top 500 data teams will utilize AI agents for data preparation and analysis. Gartner predicts that by 2028, at least 15% of daily work decisions will be autonomously made by Agentic AI, and 33% of enterprise software applications will also incorporate Agentic AI.

The agent era has just begun. In the future, we will witness various industries integrating agents, which will gradually become an integral part of the production and life of enterprises and individuals, serving as reliable employees and assistants to humanity. This day is not far off.

In terms of technical architecture, MasterAgent sets itself apart from other single agents with its multi-agent cluster. In terms of application scenarios, MasterAgent distinguishes itself from other agents handling simple C-end tasks by addressing complex B-end processes. In terms of technical routes, MasterAgent differentiates itself from agents relying on overseas ecosystems by achieving a fully localized closed loop.

Perhaps it won't be long before MasterAgent's value experiences a short-term surge!

The content and views expressed in this article are for reference only and do not constitute investment advice. Investment carries risks, and decisions should be made with caution.