China Bans Meta's Acquisition of AI Startup Manus Over National Security Concerns
On Monday, China's Main Office of Economic Planning (National Development and Reform Commission) announced that the authority responsible for overseeing compliance with foreign investment security measures has prohibited the acquisition of Manus and ordered the involved parties to dissolve the purchase agreement in accordance with the law.
Chinese regulators launched an investigation into the deal late last December, after U.S. tech giant Meta announced its $2 billion acquisition of Manus, a Chinese startup developing AI agents. The probe was initiated due to national security concerns.
The AI startup was founded in China and later relocated to Singapore. It specializes in developing general-purpose AI agents. In March 2025, the company launched its first such agent, capable of performing complex tasks — including coding, planning, market research, and data analysis — based on just a few lines of simple natural language instructions.
