At first sight, Manus works like most chatbots: Users can ask it questions in a chat window. However, besides providing answers, it can also carry out tasks (for example, finding an apartment that meets specified criteria within a certain budget). It does this by breaking tasks down into steps, then using a cloud-based virtual machine equipped with a browser and other tools to execute them—perusing websites, filling in forms, and so on.
Ji is the technical core of the team. Now based in Singapore, he leads product and infrastructure development as the company pushes forward with its global expansion.
Despite his relative youth, Ji has over a decade of experience building products that merge technical complexity with real-world usability. That earned him credibility among both engineers and investors—and put him at the forefront of a rising class of Chinese technologists with AI products and global ambitions.
Serial builder
The son of a professor and an IT professional, Ji moved to Boulder, Colorado, at age four for his father’s visiting scholar post, returning to Beijing in second grade.
His fluent English set him apart early on, but it was an elementary school robotics team that sparked his interest in programming. By high school, he was running the computer club, teaching himself how to build operating systems, and drawing inspiration from Bill Gates, Linux, and open-source culture. He describes himself as a lifelong Apple devotee, and it was Apple’s launch of the App Store in 2008 that ignited his passion for development.
In 2010, as a high school sophomore, Ji created the Mammoth browser, a customizable third-party iPhone browser. It quickly became the most-downloaded third-party browser developed by an individual in China and earned him the Macworld Asia Grand Prize in 2011. International tech site AppAdvice called it a product that “redefined the way you browse the internet.” At age 20, he was on the cover of Forbes magazine and made its “30 Under 30” list.
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During his teenage years, Ji developed several other iOS apps, including a budgeting tool designed for Hasbro’s Monopoly game, which sold well—until it attracted a legal notice for using the trademarked name. But Ji wasn't put off a career in tech by that early brush with a multinational legal team. If anything, he says, it sharpened his instincts for both product and risk.