Artificial intelligence start-up Manus, recently acquired by Meta, launched a new desktop application Monday that brings its AI agent directly onto personal laptops.
The company’s general agent — which can execute complex, multi-step tasks — previously operated exclusively in the cloud, and was typically accessed through a web interface.
However, through the new Manus Desktop application, a feature called ‘My Computer’ lets its agents work directly with local files, tools and applications on a user’s device.
The expanded offering aligns Meta and Manus’s agents more closely with OpenClaw, an open-sourced AI agent that is also downloaded onto users’ local devices.
OpenClaw was founded by Austrian software developer Peter Steinberger late last year, and its popularity has helped spark an AI agent frenzy. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang described OpenClaw as the “next ChatGPT’ in an interview with Jim Cramer on CNBC’s “Mad Money” Tuesday.
