Meta’s bid to add AI startup Manus to its portfolio has come to a sudden halt.
China’s National Development and Reform Commission has stepped in to prevent the acquisition, which was made public at the end of last year.
The blocked takeover has been under scrutiny for months as the Beijing administration stepped up efforts to stop the flow of AI talent to the U.S. Although now registered in Singapore, Manus, a vendor of an autonomous AI agent platform, was founded in Wuhan and has done most of its development work in China.
At the same time, the U.S. administration has prohibited American companies from investing directly in Chinese entities.
Manus’ relocation to Singapore, in theory, provided a way around this, but the commission has now intervened following months of investigation into whether the deal would contravene China’s investment rules.
The regulator, an agency that works under China’s all-powerful State Council, issued a statement that made clear it had decided to prohibit “the foreign acquisition of the Manus project” and that the parties involved must “unwind the acquisition transaction".
While it’s not clear if -- or even how -- the edict will be enforced, it has sparked some alarm in China among other companies that had also been considering relocation to Singapore to avoid regulatory scrutiny, according to CNBC.
The product at the heart of the furor was greeted with fanfare by Meta in December, with the tech giant claiming on Facebook that the deal would enable it to “bring a leading agent to billions of people and unlock opportunities for businesses across our products".
“Manus has built one of the leading autonomous general-purpose agents that can independently execute complex tasks like market research, coding, and data analysis. We will continue to operate and sell the Manus service, as well as integrate it into our products,” the Facebook statement continued.
Manus’ rise to prominence had been dramatic, with Meta pointing out that by the end of 2025 it had already served more than 147 trillion tokens and created more than 80 million virtual computers, having launched its first AI agent earlier in the year.
Manus itself reported reaching $100 million in annual recurring revenue just eight months after launch, apparently making it the fastest company to achieve this milestone.
What the decision means for Meta, which is spending liberally on AI and is eager to monetize its investments, remains to be seen. However, in a statement issued to the media, the social media giant said: “The transaction complied fully with applicable law. We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry.”
