On October 26, Zhang Tao (online alias HideCloud), co-founder and product partner at Manus, recently published a lengthy article on his WeChat public account “Qianyun Sisi,” titled “Transforming Manus with Manus.” The piece opens with an image that left a deep impression on him. He had submitted several requirements and bug reports to an engineer; when he checked back later, he found that the engineer’s computer had multiple Codex and Manus sessions open. Clicking on any one of them, he saw that the input was precisely the original requirement he’d just posted on Slack—without a single word changed. Even more surprising to him was that this engineer was simultaneously working on over ten or twenty tasks. At Manus today, this has become the norm. The article is packed with information, but a few key points are especially worth noting. Internally, Manus has created a unified code entry point called Manus-mono, accompanied by a manual designed for AI, enabling the AI system to view the entire project landscape across repositories. With a single request, one person can complete all client-side development. The mobile team has consistently consisted of only seven members, yet they manage two products and four apps, keeping their progress largely in sync with the web version. All product managers have submitted code to Manus, and roughly half of them can independently bring their requirements to production. Some product managers even turn their written requirements into video presentations. Meanwhile, the marketing team now has a “digital colleague” that schedules its own tasks, proactively reminds everyone of project deadlines, and even reaches out across teams to clarify feature details. In September, the company’s per-capita AI spending exceeded $10,000, with a small number of individuals consuming as much as $70,000 to $80,000 in a single month. Zhang Tao dedicated an entire section to addressing external skepticism. The timing of the article’s release is also noteworthy. At the end of September, Manus launched version 2.0 along with its personal AI agent app, Cue; in early October, the parent company Butterfly Effect announced the completion of a new round of financing exceeding $500 million, while simultaneously opening 17 positions in Beijing. Seen against this backdrop, the article reads less like a routine update and more like a manifesto marking the Manus team’s entry into the 2.0 era. It discusses how the organization leverages AI to evolve, while revealing the company’s product roadmap, cost structure, and hiring standards. 01 Manus itself serves as a showcase for 2.0 If you compare the internal practices described in the article with the feature list of Manus 2.0, you’ll find…
