China Blocks Meta's $2 Billion Manus AI Deal, Reshaping Foreign Investment in Chinese Tech

Beijing Halts a Done Deal

The National Development and Reform Commission on April 28 issued a terse directive 
prohibiting foreign investment in Manus and requiring the parties to reverse the 
transaction. The order came after months of scrutiny that included barring two of 
the startup's co-founders from leaving China while regulators assessed whether the 
deal violated investment and technology export rules.

Meta said the transaction "complied fully with applicable law" and expressed hope 
for "an appropriate resolution to the inquiry." But the practical challenges of 
unwinding the deal are considerable: Manus employees have already joined Meta's AI 
team, and investors including Tencent and HongShan Capital have already been paid 
out.

Founded in 2022, Manus relocated from China to Singapore around mid-2025 before 
Meta announced the acquisition in December. The startup had drawn attention for its 
autonomous AI agent technology. But its Chinese origins proved inescapable Beijing 
intervened despite the geographic restructuring, signaling that relocation alone 
will not insulate startups from regulatory reach.