China approves AI Assistant Monica for local market, adds to collection

• Published On: 21 March 2025 at 20:15

On Tuesday, Beijing's municipal government announced that Monica, a Chinese version of AI startup Manus' Assistant, had completed the regulatory registration process for generative AI applications in China.

This approval is a significant step forward for the AI assistant, clearing a key regulatory hurdle.

China imposes stringent regulations on generative AI platforms, requiring them to follow government guidelines to avoid producing sensitive or inappropriate content.

Last week, Manus announced a strategic partnership with the team behind Alibaba's Qwen AI models. This collaboration is expected to speed up Monica's domestic rollout, which is currently only accessible via invite codes and has a waiting list of 2 million users, according to the company.