Manus releases Version 2.0 and personal AI agent CUE, founder Xiao Hong: Manus is quite similar to a computer vendor.

According to the report from Caijing Graffiti, on September 28, after announcing independent operation, Manus launched its 2.0 version and released the standalone application Cue. This update covers underlying architecture, desktop client, cloud computer, automation, video production and game development.

According to Manus' official website, Manus 2.0 first replaced its execution base. The new Cascade architecture introduces professional capabilities on a task-specific basis, keeping documents, web pages, videos and automation in the same project. The company stated that in one test configuration, Cascade reduced Token consumption by 23.2%, shortened completion time by 28.2%, and cut operating costs by 32%. These figures come from individual tests and do not represent the average performance across all tasks.

Xiao Hong, Founder and CEO of Manus, wrote on social media: "When Manus was created, there was no Codex or Claude Cowork in the world."

He also emphasized: "Manus has always been a 'general agent'." When explaining this business, Xiao Hong put forward a metaphor closer to the consumer electronics sector: "I have always thought that Manus is quite like a computer-selling business. People may buy computers mainly for work, but a computer that cannot play videos or run games would probably be rather boring."

The desktop application has been upgraded to Manus Studio. It can process local files and also provide tools for documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, slides, websites, codes, videos and games. The video editor puts materials, subtitles, motion effects and audio into the timeline. Users can make partial modifications without regenerating the entire content.

Xiao Hong regards video and games as scenarios where agents can unleash their creativity. He revealed: "The promotional video for Cue is entirely made with the video function of Manus Studio, not generated by a video model, but written into codes and then converted into a video."

The game development function can call image, video and programming models. The finished works can be not only published as web pages, but also run multi-player services with the help of cloud computers. Xiao Hong said: "With the cloud computer, we can also make online games that can be played with friends."

The cloud computer can also host long-running automation tasks. In its current help center, Manus defines Cloud Computer as a continuously running Ubuntu Linux virtual machine. Xiao Hong's description on social media covers a wider scope: "Users can rent Linux, Mac and Windows instances on the cloud."

Regarding Computer Use, Xiao Hong mentioned a specific experience: "My favorite point is that the cloud-based Computer Use will never compete with my local computer for the cursor no matter what." His judgment goes far beyond remote operation. Xiao Hong wrote: "In the near future, a single individual will be able to control a huge computing power cluster to satisfy their curiosity and carry out some mathematical and scientific attempts."

The underlying business logic behind this is that what Manus sells is no longer just a single task. It can also sell computing resources, software environments and continuous running time. Users are shifting from calling a tool to owning a computer operated by an agent.

Cue pushes this route further to personal agents.

Each Cue agent can have its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer, to send messages, answer calls and complete payments within the budget set by the user. Multiple agents can also enter the same group chat to divide the work and complete research, screening and content production. Cue is currently in the early access stage with an invitation system, covering web, desktop and mobile terminals.

Xiao Hong defines Cue as follows: "A 'thing' that has an independent phone number, email, payment function, computer and sufficient 'intelligence' can perhaps be called a 'person'." He further proposed: "If it is really like a person, the upper-level shell should have many changes, for example, shouldn't there be a group with many people and bots?"

The personal agent market has become increasingly hot. On September 8, Meta launched Muse, which runs in an independent cloud virtual machine, can receive tasks through the app or WhatsApp, and process emails, make reservations and complete payments. After its release, Muse quickly became a phenomenal application in the North American market, and further boosted Meta's stock performance.

Another personal agent startup, Instinct, does not emphasize new interfaces. Users can directly send text messages or make calls to it. It can connect to information such as emails, messages, screens, audio and locations. In late August, it was reported that Instinct was raising about 250 million U.S. dollars at a valuation of 2.5 billion U.S. dollars, and the latest round of financing reported in September may have a valuation of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars.

For the domestic market, Xiao Hong wrote: "The overseas ecosystem is open, so it is easy to create a good experience. We are actively preparing the domestic version and hope to cooperate with everyone."

At the end of his speech, Xiao Hong wrote: "I originally thought our journey would end as just a footnote, but I didn't expect that we might have the opportunity to write a whole chapter. It would be great if we could work together." Finally, he attached the recruitment information.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Caijing Graffiti" (ID: caijingtuya), Author: MD, Editor: tuya, and is published by 36Kr with authorization.