Chinese Government Forces Meta to Unwind Manus Acquisition
The forced unwinding of a completed acquisition shows China asserting direct control over AI technology transfer, even after a company had relocated its base to Singapore.
Reporting from 1 sources: GIGAZINE.
Meta is unwinding its $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus after the Chinese government blocked the deal. Meta has cut Manus's access to internal systems and is preparing to separate operations. The co-founders are barred from leaving China, and Manus is raising $1 billion from external investors to fund the unwinding.
Meta announced the acquisition of Manus, a China-linked AI agent startup, in December 2025 for $2 billion. Manus had drawn attention for outperforming OpenAI's Deep Research on the GAIA benchmark. The company had moved its base to Singapore and placed its CEO under Meta's COO. China's National Development and Reform Commission blocked the deal in April 2026, citing technology export regulations. By June 2026, Meta began disconnecting Manus from its internal systems, a step toward full separation. Manus is now raising $1 billion from outside investors to buy itself back.
Synthesized by Yomimono from the 1 cited source below, including Japanese-language reporting where cited, then editorially reviewed before publishing.