Manus, the Singapore-based AI agent startup, announced it will resume operating as an independent company after Chinese regulators forced Meta to fully unwind the $2 billion acquisition it had closed just in December 2025. The case is one of the clearest signals yet that national borders can undo an AI deal that's already been signed and closed.
Meta announced the Manus acquisition in late 2025 and closed the transaction that December. In April 2026, China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) opened a national security review and, according to reports from TechCrunch and CNBC, formally ordered the deal unwound, citing possible violations of technology export controls and foreign investment rules. During the investigation, Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao were restricted from leaving the country.
Meta carried out a complete operational separation: it ordered employees to stop using Manus tools on internal projects and cut off the Singapore-based startup's staff from access to Meta's internal data systems. On September 1, 2026, Manus confirmed it would resume operations as an independent company, and its co-founders have held preliminary talks to raise roughly $1 billion from outside investors and buy the company back from Meta — a move that could lead to a Chinese joint-venture structure and an eventual Hong Kong IPO.
Carlos Montiel is an enterprise AI solutions architect. He implements LLMs, Agents, RAG, and orchestrators for companies in Guatemala and Latin America. Reach out for a consultation.
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