New OpenAI Sora & Google Veo Competitor Focuses on Storytelling

Artificial intelligence startup Manus has officially launched its text-to-video feature, which transforms simple text prompts into fully sequenced and animated video stories.

In a post shared on X, Manus described the tool as one that “transforms your prompts into complete stories — structured, sequenced and ready to watch.” With just a single prompt, the system “plans each scene, crafts the visuals, and animates your vision,” the post continued.

A direct challenger to Sora, Veo, and more

The release puts Manus in direct competition with heavyweights like OpenAI’s Sora, Google’s Veo, Runway, and Synthesia, all of which are racing to define the future of video content generation.

Unlike most platforms that produce isolated clips, Manus tries to stand out by focusing on storytelling. Instead of generating one-shot videos, it builds logically sequenced scenes with clear narrative flow, essentially creating a mini movie from a user’s prompt.

Besides Western companies, Chinese giants Alibaba and Tencent are also in the race, offering open-source video tools like Wan and Hunyuan. These tools lower the barrier for experimentation and development, putting pressure on proprietary systems to evolve quickly.

How to access this new Manus tool

The tool is currently available to Manus’ Basic, Plus, and Pro subscribers through early access, with a broader public release planned soon. It joins a growing lineup of AI-driven video generation services, many of which are still behind paywalls.

Rapid ascent of Manus

Until recently, Manus was relatively unknown in the AI space. That changed with the debut of its autonomous AI agent capable of handling complex, multistep tasks with minimal user input. A viral demo released earlier this year demonstrated the AI conducting resume screenings, researching real estate, and analyzing stock trends, all without requiring constant direction.

The rapid ascent of Manus, from an obscure name to a serious challenger, signals how quickly the AI industry is evolving. The company has already partnered with Microsoft’s Azure AI Foundry. The AI startup continues to build momentum with its multi-agent system that autonomously plans, executes, and completes tasks asynchronously in the cloud.

Manus is owned by Butterfly Effect, a startup with Chinese roots, incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Bloomberg reported in April that the company attracted $75 million in funding led by top Silicon Valley investor Benchmark Capital.

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