Manus AI 38 Korean YouTube Sponsorships — A $1,500 Ad Storyboard Done for $15
Key Takeaways
- · Dhesy 데이터 기준 마누스 AI 협찬 영상 38편 누적, 23명 크리에이터, 9,969,690회 조회수 (2025년 12월 ~ 2026년 5월 23일)
- · 협찬 채널 18명(약 78%)이 테크 카테고리 — 마누스가 일반 소비자가 아닌 AI 도구 전달자 중심으로 한국 시장에 안착한 분포
- · 조회수 1위는 코드팩토리 채널의 무료 크레딧 영상 2,063,759회, 2위는 39K 채널 주군 Joogoon 쇼츠 1,929,309회 — 마이크로 채널이 메가 채널을 앞선 viral 회로
- · 사용 사례는 광고 콘티·PPT 자동 제작·앱 빌드·Manus My Computer·시장 조사 5가지 영역으로 묶임. 200만원 광고 콘티가 2만원이 된 신동댕동 영상이 가장 구체적인 사례
- · 2026-04-27 중국 NDRC 의 메타 인수 차단 명령 이후에도 한국 협찬은 7편 추가됐고, 같은 기간 주군 Joogoon 쇼츠가 1.93M 회를 만들면서 시장 수요는 유지됨
Manus AI is a general-purpose AI agent originally launched from China. Following Meta's December 2025 announcement of an acquisition, Korean YouTube creators began posting sponsored Manus AI videos at scale. Dhesy data tracks 38 sponsored uploads from 23 creators between December 2025 and May 23, 2026, totaling 9,969,690 views.
A $1,500 ad storyboard built for $15 reached 510,876 views
On March 12, 2026, the Shindongdengdong channel (357K subscribers) uploaded a long-form video titled '200만원짜리 광고 콘티 작업 2만원에 끝냈습니다 (Manus AI)' — A $1,500 ad storyboard job completed for $15 using Manus AI. It hit 510,876 views in a month. On the same day, Geekble's 'Built an underwater drill' clip reached 549,485 views, and Code Factory's 'You have to try Manus' free-credit promo passed 2,063,759 views. Three channels posting the same brand on a single day marked the inflection point for Manus AI's Korean creator wave.
After Meta's acquisition, 38 Korean sponsorships accumulated
Manus AI ships under the GAIA (General AI Agent) concept — give a goal, and the agent plans, browses, runs code, and produces the final output autonomously. Meta announced a multi-trillion-won acquisition on December 30, 2025. From that point through May 23, 2026, Korean YouTube accumulated 38 sponsored uploads from 23 creators. The 262,360 average view count places it in the upper SaaS sponsorship bracket.
Monthly distribution: 5 (Jan) → 4 (Feb) → 7 (Mar) → 16 (Apr) → 6 (May, ongoing). April was the most active month, with creator Designer Duck Dee posting 5 videos solo.
18 of 23 creators were tech channels — Manus's Korean distribution is essentially tech-led
Breaking down the 23 creators by channel category: 18 tech (~78%), 2 vlog, 2 finance, 1 gaming. Manus, as an autonomous agent, landed in the Korean market through AI tool explainers — not consumer markets. The tech channel sizing also spans the spectrum: from Code Factory (71K) and Designer Duck Dee (42K) micro creators through Andoel Engineering (429K) and Shindongdengdong (357K) mid-tier, all the way to Ubi World (2.58M) and Geekble (1.2M) megas.
The top video was Code Factory's free-credit promo. The second was a 39K-subscriber Joogoon Shorts
No. 1 was Code Factory's 'You have to try Manus.. I brought 1,000 free credits' at 2,063,759 views. A single video on a 71K channel cleared 2M. The hook was the limited 1,000-credit promo. No. 2 and 3 were both shorts from Joogoon (39K subscribers) — 'When you let AI take over your computer' (1,929,309) and 'The easiest way to steal a working channel strategy' (1,780,436). One micro channel produced 37% of the brand's cumulative Korean sponsorship views.
Five real use cases: ad storyboards, slides, app builds, Manus My Computer, and market research
From 38 video titles and descriptions, the use cases group into five categories: (1) ad storyboard and design automation, (2) presentation slide automation, (3) app and website auto-build, (4) Manus My Computer autonomous OS control, and (5) market research and analysis. Categories 1 and 3 carried the strongest viral hooks because the cost-time delta is most legible to viewers.
Even after China blocked the acquisition on April 27, 7 more Korean sponsorships went live
On April 27, 2026, China's NDRC ordered Meta to unwind the Manus acquisition, an unusual retroactive intervention. Reports indicated Manus founders Xiao Hong (CEO) and Ji Yichao (CSO) had been barred from leaving China. Despite the news cycle, 7 more Korean sponsored uploads went live by May 23 — including Joogoon's May 7 short that reached 1,929,309 views. Korean market demand held.
Even if the acquisition collapses, Manus's Korean validation lives in ad storyboards and slide automation
Only 5 of 38 videos crossed 1M views, and the 262K average shows not every upload went viral. Single-video outcomes don't generalize. Dhesy data itself only captures labeled ad_banner uploads on YouTube. Still, the 38-video distribution is meaningful for Manus. If the Meta deal unwinds, the durable Korean asset is the validated use-case base — ad storyboards and slide automation outperforming short-term discount events (the 96% Android promo at 32,000 won). In the next quarter (2026 Q3), Manus's Korean sponsorships are likely to narrow further toward concrete value gaps in ad and slide categories.
FAQ
What is Manus AI? A general-purpose AI agent startup founded in China. It autonomously plans, browses the web, runs code, and produces final outputs under a GAIA (General AI Agent) concept. Critics called it 'the second DeepSeek' at launch.
What happened with the Meta acquisition? Meta announced the deal in December 2025. On April 27, 2026, China's NDRC ordered Meta to unwind it. The deal is now effectively blocked. Manus founders were reportedly placed under exit bans by Chinese authorities.
Which Korean videos performed best? The top video is Code Factory's 'You have to try Manus' free-credit promo at 2,063,759 views. The second is a Joogoon short at 1,929,309 views.
Which channel categories dominate? 18 of 23 creators (78%) are in the tech category. Vlog, finance, and gaming categories collectively account for the remaining 5.
Which use cases were most common? Ad storyboard and design automation, slide automation, app and website auto-build, Manus My Computer (autonomous OS control), and market research/analysis. Categories 1 and 3 had the strongest viral pull.
Methodology: Analysis based on 38 Manus AI sponsored videos collected by Dhesy (Dec 2025 ~ May 23, 2026), 23 creators, 9,969,690 cumulative views. Sponsorship is defined by Dhesy's ad_banner=true label. Channel categories use Dhesy's primary_category taxonomy. External events reference Yonhap, Asia Economy, Digital Times, and Maeil Economy reporting on Manus.
Data source: Dhesy
Last updated: 2026-05-24