The startup behind Manus, an artificial intelligence agent that went viral earlier this year and got financial backing from Benchmark, has shut down its entire China-based team, according to a person with knowledge of the situation. It’s the latest sign that Manus, whose biggest target market is the U.S., wants to minimize geopolitical risks associated with China ties. Butterfly Effect, the startup that operates Manus, has already taken steps to leave China and become a Singapore-headquartered company. In May, its three cofounders—Red Xiao, Peak Ji and Tao Zhang—and other executives relocated from China to Singapore. It recently opened offices in San Mateo, Calif., and Tokyo as well. Until last week, Butterfly Effect had at least dozens of employees in China. But this week, it eliminated all of its China-based jobs, according to the person. While some of the China-based employees are relocating to Singapore, many of them have left the company. The startup, meanwhile, is ramping up its hiring efforts in Singapore, the U.S. and Japan. Butterfly Effect developed Manus as a global product designed for the U.S. and other markets outside China. For Chinese tech founders building products for U.S. users, keeping their teams in China could make their startups vulnerable to geopolitical risks amid U.S.-China tensions. For example, TikTok, whose parent company ByteDance is one of China’s biggest tech giants, has faced the threat of a ban in the U.S. due to national security concerns. https://www.perplexity.ai.. #🇨🇳 ChinA.I. 🤖🧠🦾🤖