(Yicai) March 6 -- Chinese artificial intelligence startup Monica.Im has launched a new AI agent called Manus, which reportedly outperforms OpenAI's advanced AI agent Deep Research.

Manus achieved top performance in the General AI Assistants benchmark, a third-party evaluation system for AI agents, according to the Beijing-based startup's dedicated website for Manus. Beyond the web page, the company released a demo video of Manus across multiple social media platforms yesterday. However, the program currently remains accessible only through invitation.

Xiao Hong, a graduate of Wuhan's Huazhong University of Science and Technology, founded Monica.Im in 2023. The startup's first product called Monica is a browser extension powered by ChatGPT that helps users enhance their searches with AI features.

Monica.Im joins a wave of Chinese AI startups gaining traction abroad. In January, Hangzhou-based DeepSeek launched DeepSeek R1, an open-source large language model that garnered global headlines due to its powerful and cost-effective performance compared to its American counterpart, OpenAI's ChatGPT.

According to the development team, Manus can flexibly utilize various tools. It can write code, browse the web, and operate applications to directly deliver complete task results to users.

In the demo video, the team sent a compressed file containing 10 resumes to Manus, and the AI agent reviewed the CVs, produced a ranking of candidates along with assessments, and ultimately generated an Excel spreadsheet. Moreover, the team asked Manus to compile a list of properties in safe neighborhoods with good schools in New York and to compare the performance of three stocks.

A third-party developer who had tried Manus said that the product behaves like a proactive intern. "I can also add tasks on the fly during the process, and all I need to do is wait for it to deliver the results."

Editors: Dou Shicong, Emmi Laine