(Yicai) July 9 -- Chinese artificial intelligence startup Monica, also known as Butterfly Effect, has responded to recent layoff rumors, confirming that it has restructured its team to improve operations at the company behind the widely hyped AI agent Manus.

Monica will continue to focus on its core business and enhance operational efficiency, The Paper reported yesterday, citing the Singapore-registered company founded by Chinese developers.

The clarification comes after social media posts alleged that Monica had recently laid off several China-based business staff and relocated key technical personnel to its headquarters in Singapore. Last month, Product Lead Zhang Tao confirmed the company had officially moved its headquarters from China to Singapore.

Monica first introduced Manus in March, calling it “the world’s first general-purpose intelligent agent.” The startup said Manus earned top scores on the General AI Assistants benchmark, a third-party evaluation system for autonomous AI agents.

According to the demo, users can issue simple prompts and Manus will autonomously complete complex tasks such as compiling a list of properties in safe New York neighborhoods with good schools or comparing the performance of multiple stocks.

Manus entered invite-only beta testing in March, and access codes were reportedly resold for tens of thousands of yuan, prompting speculation that the company may be engaging in a “hunger marketing” strategy to build hype.

Founded in 2023, Monica also owns 100 percent of the equity in Red Butterfly Technology, a Beijing-based research and development center that serves as the technical backbone for Manus.

Editor: Emmi Laine