Manus, an AI upstart previously recognized for its human-like AI agent capable of executing multistep tasks, has ventured into the competitive text-to-video generation market. The company recently unveiled a new feature allowing users to create structured, sequenced video stories from text prompts within minutes, as announced on X (formerly Twitter).

This new service from Manus is initially available through early access for its paid subscribers, with plans for a broader free rollout to all users subsequently. Manus is positioning itself against established players in this burgeoning field, including OpenAI's Sora, which is available to paid subscribers via ChatGPT, with the Pro version costing $200 a month. Other Western contenders like Runway, Synthesia, and Google also price their offerings based on subscription or pay-per-use models. The competitive landscape further includes formidable Chinese tech giants such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. with its Wan model and Tencent Holdings Ltd. with its Hunyuan model; many of these are challenging proprietary Western models with open-source alternatives.

Manus, which has Chinese roots, was relatively unknown until the debut of its advanced AI agent earlier this year. This launch occurred just weeks after another peer, DeepSeek, significantly impacted the global market with its highly cost-efficient model. Manus’s parent company, Butterfly Effect, made international headlines for successfully securing venture funds from the high-profile Silicon Valley investor Benchmark Capital. This investment is particularly noteworthy as it occurred amidst escalating US-China tensions, especially in strategic fields such as artificial intelligence.

The rapid development and deployment of text-to-video models by creators like Manus and its global competitors underscore the significant technological advances being made in the AI field. This technology is poised to influence a multibillion-dollar market, carrying the potential to fundamentally disrupt and transform various industries, including entertainment, education, and marketing, by offering novel methods for content creation and engagement.