China Blocks Meta Acquisition of Manus

The Chinese National Development and Reform Commission told Meta Platforms to cancel its $2 billion acquisition of agentic AI specialist Manus. The body said it has decided after multiple agencies in the country assessed the deal.

Brief comments from the authority explained that the decision is related to foreign investment rules. Although Manus is now headquartered in Singapore, it was initially based in China. Meta’s agreement for Manus was announced in December 2025, and it already describes itself as part of Meta on its website. In its original statement, the tech giant did not disclose a completion timeline or terms of the buy.

Several news outlets highlighted that unwinding the acquisition could prove complicated, given that the two are already entangled. Manus employees had already moved into its office in Singapore, and its investors had been paid for their stakes. Reports also stated that the company’s technology had been incorporated into some of Meta Platforms’ products.

When it announced the deal, Meta stated that Manus had built one of the leading autonomous general-purpose agents capable of performing complex tasks like market research, coding, and data analysis. It plans to continue to operate and sell the Manus service, as well as integrate it into its products.