China's Manus AI makes waves at Raise Summit in Paris

Global leaders in artificial intelligence gathered in Paris this week to chart the future of automation, innovation, and global tech leadership. 

Held beneath the Louvre at the Carrousel, the Raise AI Summit welcomed nearly five thousand participants from around the world, including top executives, policymakers and emerging startups.

Executives from Google, AI chipmaker Cerebras Systems and cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks headlined sessions that tackled urgent questions in AI: how to harness the technology for defense, how it will reshape jobs, and how to ensure responsible innovation.

But it was a Chinese startup that stole the spotlight.

Manus AI, launched in March by Chinese company Monica, introduced what many are calling a breakthrough in agentic AI – a form of artificial intelligence designed to plan, decide, and act independently without constant human input. 

Unlike traditional chatbots that follow step-by-step commands, Manus functions more like a fully autonomous digital assistant, capable of completing complex tasks on its own.

The company has already outperformed competitors like OpenAI on the GAIA benchmark, a global test designed to measure how well AI systems handle real-world tasks. 

From booking travel to analyzing stock data, Manus demonstrates an advanced level of autonomy, raising both excitement and concern about how far AI is evolving.

"Now everyone is using ChatGPT. Maybe you have five questions per day and each question costs OpenAI five seconds of GPU time," said Manus AI co-founder Tao Zhang. "But my dream is to build a product that runs 24 hours of GPU time just for you."

A GPU, or graphics chip, is like the engine that powers AI. The more GPU time it gets, the faster and smarter the AI becomes.

On the sidelines of the summit, French politicians emphasized the need for greater European investment in AI. Lawmaker Paul Midy acknowledged China's rapid progress in the field and welcomed future collaboration.

"I think China is doing a great job in AI over the past 10 to 20 years," Midy said. "I'm happy that Chinese technology can come to Europe, but with the same type of strict conditions to get access to the local market."

France has pledged $128 billion in AI investment, aiming to build infrastructure, nurture talent, and position itself as a global leader in ethical and inclusive AI.

There are concerns about the growing use of AI, from ethical considerations to worries over the environmental impact of its energy use. 

But as the summit concluded, one message echoed through Paris: the AI race is accelerating – and responsibility must keep pace.