Manus 2.0, released September 28, 2026, is a re-architecture of the Manus general-purpose agent around Cascade, its in-house agent harness that loads specialized capabilities only when a task needs them. It adds a purchasable Cloud Computer (a dedicated always-on environment), Automations (tasks triggered by a new email, calendar event, Slack message, Notion update or ad-performance change), Manus Studio (the desktop app, now with Video Editor and Game Dev environments), Remote Control and Computer Use, and a separate personal-agent app called Cue. Manus says Cascade used 23.2% fewer tokens, 28.2% less time and 32% less cost than its previous system in one tested configuration; the test is undescribed and unverified.

What is Cue from Manus?

Cue is a standalone app for personal agents, launched September 28, 2026 on web, desktop and Android, with iOS awaiting App Store review. Each Cue agent gets its own email address, phone number, wallet and computer, so it can send messages, take your calls and leave a summary, pay within a budget you set, and complete tasks on its own machine. Several agents can be put in a group chat with a shared goal and hand work to each other. At a restaurant you can scan a QR code and let the agent order or hold your place in line. It is free in early access with an invite code (MEETCUE for a limited number of users); post-early-access pricing is unannounced.

Which AI models does Manus use?

Manus does not train its own base models. It said in December 2025 that it builds on Anthropic's Claude and Alibaba's Qwen models; Cascade is the orchestration harness on top. Manus is also reported to be talking to Chinese model makers as it assembles a China-focused product team after the Meta split.

Quick Answer

What Is Manus 2.0 and Cue? Agents With Phones (Sep 2026)

Q: Is Manus safe to connect to my accounts?

Weigh it carefully. On September 24, 2026 Salt Labs disclosed an email-borne prompt-injection flaw that let researchers run code inside a victim's Manus environment and reach credentials for connected apps such as Gmail, Dropbox and GitHub; a Manus warning appeared only after the payload had run. Salt Labs said Manus did not reply to its report, and the flaw was triaged and patched through Meta's bug-bounty program while Meta was preparing its acquisition. Cue's per-agent wallet with a user-set budget limits the blast radius of a bad action but does not prevent injection.

Published: September 29, 2026

The short answer

Manus 2.0, launched September 28, 2026, is the first big release since Manus resumed independent operations after Beijing unwound Meta’s $2 billion acquisition — a new harness (Cascade), an always-on Cloud Computer, event-triggered Automations, a creative desktop app (Manus Studio) and a new personal-agent app, Cue, in which every agent gets its own email, phone number, wallet and computer. Cue is free in early access with an invite code. The launch lands as Manus, now Singapore-based with Tencent as its largest outside investor, reportedly seeks $500 million at a $4 billion valuation, and four days after Salt Labs disclosed a prompt-injection flaw in the product.

What is in Manus 2.0

Component	What it is	Status / price
Cascade	Latest in-house agent harness; keeps a project light and loads specialized capabilities only when needed. Manus claims 23.2% fewer tokens, 28.2% less time, 32% less cost vs the previous system in one configuration.	Live; efficiency claims unverified
Cloud Computer	A dedicated, purchasable environment for projects that must outlive your laptop — a multiplayer game server, a 24/7 automation.	Purchasable; price not disclosed
Automations	Scheduled Tasks become event-triggered workflows: a new email, calendar event, Slack message, Notion update or ad-performance change starts a task, set up from one prompt.	Live
Manus Studio	The desktop app, upgraded into a shared people-plus-AI workspace: documents, spreadsheets, PDFs, slides, websites, code, games, video. Two new pro environments: Video Editor (timeline with separable clips, images, text, motion graphics and audio; “Alchemy mode” for AI creative direction) and Game Dev (video, image and coding models together; “Max Ultra” mode; publish as a playable link; multiplayer via Cloud Computer).	Live
Remote Control / Computer Use	Tell Manus what you need on your home computer from your phone and watch it work in a visible session on approved files, browsers and apps.	Live, authorized sessions only
Cue	Standalone personal-agent app (below).	Early access, free with invite code

Manus said in December 2025 that its stack builds on Claude and Qwen rather than its own base models, so Cascade is an orchestration and context-management layer — the same design space as Claude Managed Agents, Cursor Projects and Google AX.

Cue: agents with identities

Cue is the headline. Each agent gets:

Its own email address and phone number — it can send messages, and it can take your calls and leave a summary in the app.
Its own wallet — it pays within a budget you set.
Its own computer — it sees a task through on its own machine, not yours.

Multiple agents can be put into a group chat with a shared goal and hand work to one another: one researches venues, another shortlists, a third drafts the deck, and you make the call. Everyday-service hooks are built in: scan a restaurant’s QR code and the agent orders or holds your place in line.

Availability as of September 29, 2026: web and desktop at cue.im, Android via app link, iOS “coming soon after App Store review.” Early access is free with the invite code MEETCUE (limited, first-come), and every admitted user gets extra codes. Manus has not said what Cue will cost afterward.

The context: post-Meta Manus

Beijing blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition on national-security grounds and ordered it unwound (timeline); founders and backers Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund bought Meta’s shares back at the same $2 billion valuation, making Tencent the largest external investor.
Manus resumed independent operations in September 2026 and, per Bloomberg (September 17), is in talks to raise $500 million at a $4 billion valuation — about twice Meta’s price. The round has not closed.
Company-reported revenue: $100 million ARR crossed in December 2025, nine months after the March 2025 launch, with a total run rate above $125 million.
Manus is assembling a team for China-focused products and talking to local model makers.

The security caveat

On September 24, 2026, Salt Labs disclosed that an email carrying an obfuscated instruction let its researchers execute code inside a victim’s Manus environment and reach credentials and tokens for whatever third-party apps the victim had connected (Gmail, Dropbox, GitHub). A Manus security warning appeared only after the payload had run. Salt Labs said Manus did not reply to its report; Meta’s bug-bounty program triaged, confirmed and patched the flaw while the acquisition was being prepared. Yaniv Balmas of Salt Labs: “Any agentic system designer should carefully think of robust layers of defense, and not simply trust guardrails.”

Cue makes this sharper, not softer: an agent with its own phone number, inbox and wallet is a richer target. The budget cap is a blast-radius control, not an injection defense. Practical mitigations in prompt-injection defense: sandboxing vs allowlists vs approval.

How Cue compares

Cue arrives the same day Instinct raised $1 billion at $10 billion for a text-or-call personal agent, three weeks after Meta Muse launched free with $20/$100 tiers, and while OpenAI’s “o” always-on agent is still a leak. The three-way table is in Instinct vs Manus Cue vs Meta Muse. Short version: Muse has distribution (WhatsApp, US App Store #1) and a free tier; Instinct has the phone-first modality and the money; Cue has the most literal “agent as a person” design — identities, wallets and group chats — plus the Manus Studio creative stack behind it.

Last verified: September 29, 2026.