Manus Resumes Independent Operations After China Blocks Meta's $2 Billion Acquisition Deal

AI startup Manus says resumes independent operations

Beijing (AFP) - AI startup Manus said Tuesday it had resumed independent operations, months after China blocked Facebook-owner Meta from buying the Chinese-developed, Singapore-based firm. The two companies announced in December that Meta had agreed to acquire Manus, an artificial intelligence agent, in a deal reportedly worth around $2 billion. But China's top economic planning body said in April that it prohibited the deal, and required "the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction". Around the same time, Beijing also reportedly restricted travel for two of Manus' co-founders, preventing them from leaving China. "Manus has formally resumed independent operations," the company said in a statement posted to its website. Some users would be required to back up and restore their data, and would face a "temporary interruption to access", it said. "Our founding team will continue to lead the company," it added. Manus announced in August its intention to return to independent operations, saying the move was "part of our separation from Meta". "We must take this step to comply with regulatory requirements in specific parts of the world," it said at the time. Analysts warned when the deal was announced that it might fall foul of regulators, at a time of fierce technological rivalry between Washington and Beijing. Meta previously told AFP in a statement that "the transaction complied fully with applicable law". China has been cracking down on a practice known as "Singapore-washing" in which companies leave the country to take advantage of looser regulations, global customers or funding opportunities. Manus, a product of CEO Xiao Hong's ambition to create a Chinese company with world recognition, abruptly shifted its approach in 2025, when the firm laid off dozens of staff in Beijing and Wuhan and relocated core personnel to Singapore. It also began blocking access for Chinese users, and withdrew its presence on Chinese social media. Woody Ye, partner at Junsheng Consulting, told AFP that part of the reason for Manus's fallout was its failure to properly handle its legal issues. "The core of this is that some startups and their founders don't understand compliance well," he said. After the Manus episode, "people will pay closer attention to investment structures, operational frameworks and future exit strategies", he added.

AI startup Manus resumes independent operations after China blocks Meta's $2 billion deal

Manus has now resumed independent operations after the regulatory intervention in the deal. The company informed users about data backups needed for its separation from Meta. This development follows Beijing's tightened controls on technology exports and cross-border transactions. AI startup Manus has resumed independent operations after Chinese regulators ordered Meta to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of the company, AFP reported on Tuesday. In August, the Singapore-based AI startup said some users will need to back up data generated on or after December 29, 2025 -- the date Meta announced its acquisition of Manus -- as part of the separation process. "This is part of our separation from Meta; we must take this step to comply with regulatory requirements in specific parts of the world," Manus said in a statement. The development comes months after Beijing intervened in the deal. Meta had announced in December that it would acquire Manus, a developer of general-purpose AI agents founded in China in 2022 before moving its headquarters to Singapore. The proposed acquisition quickly came under scrutiny in both China and the US. Chinese authorities examined whether the transaction complied with the country's rules governing foreign investment and technology transfers. In April, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) ordered the parties to withdraw the transaction, setting off a complex process to unwind the deal. Also Read: ETtech Explainer: How the Meta-Manus deal came apart, and Tencent moved in The move comes as Beijing has tightened controls around technology exports and cross-border transactions involving sensitive technologies. China and the US are increasingly competing for AI talent, computing hardware and data as the global race to develop increasingly capable AI systems intensifies. For Meta, the Manus deal was part of a broader push to strengthen its AI capabilities. The social media giant had planned to integrate Manus' technology into its consumer and enterprise products as it looks to compete more aggressively with OpenAI, Google and Anthropic. Meta has also been exploring ways to build a subscription business around AI, making access to advanced AI agents and assistants an increasingly important part of its strategy.