China's National Development and Reform Commission ordered Meta to unwind its acquisition of Chinese AI startup Manus, with regulators requiring both parties to reverse the transaction.
Meta had announced the acquisition in late December 2025 for an estimated $2 billion. Within weeks, China's commerce ministry launched an investigation in January 2026.
The startup's growth trajectory attracted significant investor attention. Manus completed a $75 million funding round led by Benchmark in May 2025 and reached $100 million in annual recurring revenue by December 2025, just eight months after launching.
The National Development and Reform Commission's involvement—as the ministry overseeing economic planning and AI policy—underscores the strategic importance Beijing places on artificial intelligence assets. Around 100 Manus employees had already moved into Meta's Singapore offices in March 2026, TechCrunch reported.
Meta’s acquisition of Manus is part of a larger push by the social media giant—the parent company behind Facebook and Instagram—to massively grow its AI ambitions and try to catch up to giants like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google.
