This week brought five AI business stories and one poll:
- Manus has raised more than $500 million (confirmed) [1].
- Tab emerged from stealth at a $300 million valuation (company-reported) [2].
- Nvidia is reported to have discussed investing another $1 billion in Figure [3].
- ElevenLabs says its annual revenue run rate has passed $600 million (company-reported) [4].
- Synthesia launches its Syren video engine on 9 October (product claims are Synthesia’s) [6].
Meanwhile, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found that most Americans think Washington is not taking AI’s risks seriously enough [7].
The money mostly goes to agents: software that acts for you rather than just answering questions. None of what follows is investment advice.
Manus raises $500 million-plus after the Meta reversal
Confirmed. Butterfly Effect, the parent of AI agent company Manus, said on 8 October 2026 that it had raised more than $500 million. The round was led by private equity firm Boyu Capital and venture investor IDG Capital, with follow-on money from existing shareholders Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund, CNBC reports [1].
It is Manus’s first round since Beijing blocked Meta’s short-lived $2 billion acquisition. China’s National Development and Reform Commission said it would “prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project” [1]. Manus did not disclose a valuation. Bloomberg had reported last month that the round would double its valuation to about $4 billion. That figure remains reported [1].
Why it matters. Investors are backing Manus as an independent company despite the regulatory fight. Eurasia Group’s Dan Wang told CNBC the fallout “has been contained” [1]. Analysts quoted by CNBC say the next task is proving scale, profitability and alignment with Beijing’s rules [1].
Tab: a texting agent valued at $300 million
Company-reported valuation; amount undisclosed. Tab announced on Tuesday 6 October that it had come out of stealth at a $300 million valuation. It declined to say how much it raised, TechCrunch reports [2]. Users text the assistant on iMessage or WhatsApp, and it books, orders, calls and pays. Co-founder Ammar Amdani says it has “its own phone number, computer, and wallet” [2]. Investors include SV Angel, Valar Ventures and American Spirit [2].
Tab’s main safety claim is about consent: “Nothing that can be undone happens without your ‘yes'”, and the card “lives in a vault Tab itself never sees” [2]. Those are the company’s descriptions, not audited controls.
Nvidia and Figure: reported talks
Reported, unconfirmed. The Information reported on 7 October that Nvidia has discussed investing another $1 billion in humanoid-robot maker Figure. Figure is said to be raising at a pre-money valuation of about $38 billion [3]. TSN could not read The Information’s article. The details come from a FinancialJuice headline and secondary summaries, and neither company has confirmed them [3]. Crypto Briefing notes that Nvidia already took part in Figure’s September 2025 Series C, which valued Figure at $39 billion post-money [3].
ElevenLabs passes a $600 million run rate
Company-reported. ElevenLabs CEO Mati Staniszewski told CNBC-TV18 that the voice AI company’s annual revenue run rate has passed $600 million. India is now its second-largest market after the US, and enterprise customers make up 55% of revenue [4]. He said ElevenLabs will spend a double-digit percentage of its recent fundraise of close to $1 billion in India, which he put at “hundreds of millions of dollars” [4]. A run rate is current revenue scaled up to a year, not a year’s audited revenue.
On 6 October, ElevenLabs also signed a memorandum of understanding with Karnataka’s state technology agency, KITS [5]. It covers three things: a voice-AI safety framework, free lifetime voice-restoration licences for eligible people who have lost their speech (including in Kannada), and possible pilots of Kannada voice services for government helplines and grievance handling [5]. An MoU is an agreement to explore, not a contract for services.
Synthesia Syren: video that copies your house style
Product claims are Synthesia’s. Synthesia says Syren launches on 9 October with a waitlist. It describes Syren as “the first video engine that learns from your existing video library” [6]. A Brand Kit learns a company’s colours, typography, animation style and pacing from videos it has already made. Syren then produces new videos from a prompt, with motion graphics, 3D, voiceover, music and avatars, and users refine them in chat [6].
Voiceover is listed as something Syren generates. Synthesia’s page does not say Syren learns a brand’s voice from past videos.
The public mood: Reuters/Ipsos
Confirmed poll data. Ipsos surveyed 4,506 US adults through its probability-based KnowledgePanel between 30 September and 5 October 2026. The margin of error is ±1.5 points for the full sample [7]. Topline figures [7]:
- Government response. 57% of registered voters say the Trump administration has not taken AI’s risks seriously enough (53% of all adults). For Congress the figures are 54% of voters and 50% of adults. For AI companies, 58% of voters.
- Jobs. 51% of registered voters call AI a major threat to American workers, and 34% a minor one.
- Rules. 63% of adults support stricter government regulation of AI, including 60% of Republicans and 77% of Democrats. 52% support pausing or limiting new data-centre construction.
These are Ipsos’s topline tables. Reuters’ own write-up may round or group answers differently.
What this does not prove
- Manus’s valuation. It was not disclosed, and the $4 billion figure is Bloomberg’s report [1].
- That Tab’s or ElevenLabs’ numbers are audited. Both are company figures [2][4].
- That Nvidia will invest in Figure. The talks are reported and unconfirmed [3].
- That Syren beats rivals. Its quality claims are Synthesia’s own [6].
- What voters want in detail. The poll measures broad attitudes, not support for any specific bill [7].
The Bottom Line
Money is flowing to AI that acts on people’s behalf: Manus and Tab as agents, Figure as a robot body, ElevenLabs as a voice [1][2][3][4]. Polling shows the public is less relaxed. Majorities want stricter rules and think government is not taking the risks seriously [7]. Both trends are moving at once, and the agent companies say trust is the product. They still have to prove it.
Sources
- “AI startup Manus raises $500 million in first funding round since Meta breakup,” CNBC, 8 October 2026, 07:32 BST (cites Bloomberg’s earlier valuation report). https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/manus-fund-raise-meta-muse-tencent.html
- Dominic-Madori Davis, “Another personal AI assistant has launched — Meet Tab, which emerged from stealth with a $300M valuation,” TechCrunch, 7 October 2026, 14:45 BST. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/07/another-personal-ai-assistant-has-launched-meet-tab-which-emerged-from-stealth-with-a-300m-valuation/
- “Nvidia discussed investing another $1 bln in Figure – The Information,” FinancialJuice (headline only, undated on page), October 2026. https://www.financialjuice.com/News/9795402/Nvidia-discussed-investing-another-1-bln-in-Figure—The-Information-NVDA.aspx. Secondary summaries: “Nvidia Weighs Another $1 Billion Bet on Humanoid Robot Maker Figure,” The Frontier of Embodied AI (source for the ~$38bn pre-money figure), https://embodiedaifrontier.com/articles/cCyLeE.html; “Nvidia discussed investing another $1 billion in Figure AI,” Crypto Briefing, 7 October 2026 (source for the September 2025 Series C), https://cryptobriefing.com/nvidia-discusses-1-billion-figure-ai-investment/
- Ritu Singh, “Exclusive: ElevenLabs crosses $600M global ARR as India emerges as its second-largest market,” CNBC-TV18, 6 October 2026. https://www.cnbctv18.com/technology/elevenlabs-india-second-largest-market-600-million-arr-mati-staniszewski-20005736.htm
- “Karnataka takes a citizen-first step towards using AI for public good,” Express Computer, 6 October 2026 (report of the KITS–ElevenLabs MoU). https://www.expresscomputer.in/news/karnataka-takes-a-citizen-first-step-towards-using-ai-for-public-good/139508/
- Synthesia, “Introducing Syren: On-Brand AI Video” (product launch page), read 8 October 2026. https://www.synthesia.io/syren
- Ipsos, “Reuters/Ipsos October Survey” (methodology page dated 5 October 2026) and topline PDF (“Topline 10.7”), read 8 October 2026. https://www.ipsos.com/en-us/reutersipsos-october-survey ; https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/news/documents/2026-10/Reuters%20Ipsos%20October%20Large%20Issue%20Topline%2010.7%20release_0.pdf
