source: techcrunch ai: meta reportedly moves to unwind $2b manus deal after beijing’s demand
level: business
meta has started dismantling its $2 billion acquisition of manus, cutting off the chinese-founded ai startup from internal systems and halting data sharing. this follows a divestiture order from beijing roughly two months ago, citing national security concerns. employees can no longer use manus tools for internal projects as the companies move toward full separation.
manus co-founders are in early talks to raise about $1 billion from outside investors to buy back the startup, possibly forming a chinese joint venture and listing in hong kong. the city has seen a surge in ai listings this year from firms like minimax and zhipu. meanwhile, chinese authorities have expanded travel restrictions on private ai researchers and executives, requiring government approval for trips abroad. top ai firms like moonshot ai, stepfun, and bytedance may also need state sign-off before accepting u.s. investment.
the deal, once a landmark exit for chinese ai, is unraveling as beijing tightens control over sensitive technology. manus continues to ship new features, including integrations with similarweb and shopify. the startup gained attention with a viral agent demo and moved staff to singapore in mid-2025 before the meta acquisition was announced in december. chinese regulators scrutinized the transaction for potential export control and foreign investment violations. investors like benchmark have received proceeds, while asian backers including tencent and zhenfund will cooperate with the unwinding.
why it matters: this shows how geopolitical tensions can disrupt ai acquisitions and force data science teams to separate integrated systems quickly.
source: techcrunch ai: meta reportedly moves to unwind $2b manus deal after beijing’s demand