AI generated

AsianFin -- Since the beginning of 2025, "General AI Agents" have become the hottest trend in artificial intelligence, with Chinese startup Manus emerging as a breakout player after claiming to launch the world's first such product.

The buzz reached a fever pitch when invitation codes for its platform reportedly traded hands for up to 80,000 yuan ($11,000). The excitement quickly caught the attention of China's tech majors and global AI leaders alike, sparking an arms race in what many see as the next evolution of intelligent software.

In April, ByteDance, Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent, and Lenovo all made moves into the Agent arena, rolling out new products targeting multitasking and automated workflow execution. Many of these offerings are currently in invite-only beta, with limited user awareness and skepticism lingering over whether the technology truly delivers on its promise of being a "working AI" rather than just another iteration of chatbots.

Globally, OpenAI, Claude, and Microsoft have all launched Agent products or development platforms, accelerating the momentum.

What Are "General Agents"?

Unlike conventional AI chatbots that offer advice or generate text, General Agents aim to function as full-fledged digital assistants. Equipped with autonomous planning, tool invocation, and contextual memory, they can not only answer queries but also complete tasks—such as compiling reports, generating presentations, and performing research—often across integrated platforms.

For instance, DeepSeek might return a detailed text if prompted to generate an industry report. A General Agent, however, could deliver the same report complete with charts, saved in PDF or HTML format, without user intervention.

Notably, the development of a General Agent doesn't require owning a foundational large language model. Manus, for example, uses Anthropic's Claude and a customized version of Alibaba's Qwen model, alongside proprietary toolkits and reinforcement learning components. Its standout feature is deep integration via the Model Context Protocol (MCP)—a rising industry standard for AI resource coordination, akin to a "USB port" for intelligent software.

ByteDance's Agent platform, "Coze Space," leverages its in-house model Doubao 1.5 Pro and integrates with mainstream MCP tools like Feishu and GitHub. Its business model includes subscriptions, tech licensing, and enterprise solutions, with prices ranging from free to nearly $700 a year for corporate users. Backed by $75 million in funding and a $200 million valuation, Coze is currently in closed beta.

Alibaba's offering, "Flow State," positions itself for advanced research tasks, requiring longer processing times but delivering richly illustrated outputs. However, a recent test by "Wall Street Tech Eye" revealed significant flaws in Flow State's understanding of key Agent concepts, misclassifying tools and misidentifying developer affiliations—errors that raise questions about its readiness for commercialization.

Baidu, meanwhile, rolled out its "XinXiang" Agent, targeting average consumers with scenarios like travel planning and matchmaking. And Lenovo became the first PC OEM to launch a built-in general Agent, introducing its "Tianxi Personal Super Intelligent Agent" with edge-cloud hybrid deployment and localized AI processing, hinting at broader adoption across consumer devices.

While tech giants are focused on strategic positioning, startups are already monetizing. MainFunc, founded by ex-Xiaodu CEO Jing Kun, recently launched Super Agent through its AI search engine Genspark. Focused on data retrieval, presentation creation, and research, the product hit an annual recurring revenue (ARR) of over $10 million within nine days of launch, supported by 10,000+ paying users. Its base subscription is $20/month.

Manus remains the market leader with two subscription tiers at $39/month and $199/month, and an ARR of $41.5 million after just one month. With $7,500 raised and a $500 million valuation, the company has also partnered with Alibaba to develop a localized Chinese version.

Driven by MCP adoption and growing commercial applications, the General Agent market is set to scale rapidly. Research forecasts a 72.7% compound annual growth rate in China's Agent industry through 2028, potentially reaching 800 billion yuan ($110 billion). For entrepreneurs, it's a new frontier for financing and IPOs; for Big Tech, it's a gateway for user engagement and cloud integration.

As Alibaba CEO Wu Yongming recently emphasized, the company must "let go of past achievements" and "return to its entrepreneurial roots" in the AI era. Whether it's Alibaba, Tencent, Microsoft, or Google, the ultimate ambition is the same: to become the platform of choice in the AI economy.

The battle for AI dominance in 2025 may well be decided by the success and staying power of General Agents.