China blocks Meta's Manus deal
- China’s National Development and Reform Commission ordered Meta to unwind its roughly $2 billion purchase of Manus on Monday, blocking foreign investment in the startup. - Manus was founded in China, moved to Singapore in 2025, and had already shifted about 100 staff into Meta’s Singapore offices. - The reversal follows a January probe and March exit bans on two Manus founders, tightening scrutiny of cross-border AI deals. (cnbc.com)
China ordered Meta to unwind its roughly $2 billion acquisition of Manus on Monday, blocking foreign investment in the artificial intelligence startup. (cnbc.com) (rappler.com) The order came from China’s National Development and Reform Commission, which said the Manus project could not accept foreign investment and told the parties to withdraw the transaction. (cnbc.com) (techcrunch.com) Meta announced the deal in December 2025, and Reuters reported the price at more than $2 billion, with some reports putting the valuation as high as $2 billion to $3 billion. (rappler.com) (techcrunch.com) Manus builds general-purpose AI agents, software meant to carry out tasks with minimal prompting, including market research, coding, data analysis, slide creation, and browser-based work. (cnbc.com) (africa.businessinsider.com) The company was founded in China, then moved its headquarters to Singapore in mid-2025, a structure investors and founders had used to reduce scrutiny from both Beijing and Washington. (cnbc.com) (rappler.com) China had already opened a review in January into whether the sale complied with rules on export controls, technology transfers, and overseas investment. (cnbc.com) (rappler.com) In March, Manus chief executive Xiao Hong and chief scientist Ji Yichao were barred from leaving China while regulators examined the transaction, according to Reuters. (investing.com) (rappler.com) Reuters also reported that Manus shut its China offices in July 2025 after a $75 million funding round led by Benchmark, laid off dozens of employees, and shifted operations to Singapore without Chinese regulatory approval. (rappler.com) Even before Monday’s order, the integration had started. TechCrunch reported that about 100 Manus employees had moved into Meta’s Singapore offices by March, and CEO Xiao Hong was reporting to Meta chief operating officer Javier Olivan. (techcrunch.com) Meta had said in March that the transaction “complied fully with applicable law” and that it expected “an appropriate resolution” to the inquiry. Manus did not immediately respond to several outlets on Monday. (cnbc.com) (investing.com) (techcrunch.com) The block leaves Meta without a startup it wanted to fold into Meta AI, and it shows that moving a Chinese-founded AI company to Singapore no longer guarantees a clean exit from Beijing’s control. (techcrunch.com) (cnbc.com)
