China Halts Meta Deal for AI Platform Manus
The country’s economic planning authority, the National Development and Reform Commission, said in a statement that it had decided to prohibit foreign investment in the deal “in accordance with laws and regulations,” and instructed the parties involved to cancel and withdraw the transaction.
Earlier reporting by the Financial Times indicated that Chinese authorities had been reviewing the planned sale of Manus to Meta as early as January. More recently, Bloomberg reported that Beijing was tightening oversight of foreign involvement in China’s tech sector, including requiring government approval for certain overseas investments in AI startups.
Meta had announced the $2 billion acquisition agreement in December, as stated by reports.
Manus, originally founded in China before relocating its operations to Singapore, has positioned itself as a developer of advanced AI systems. In early 2025, the platform introduced its first general-purpose AI agent, designed to handle complex tasks such as coding, data analysis, and market research.
The decision reflects Beijing’s broader effort to regulate strategic technology assets and limit unapproved foreign influence in sensitive artificial intelligence development sectors, according to reports.
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