Overview
- China’s National Development and Reform Commission, in a Monday order, prohibited foreign investment in the Manus project and told all parties to withdraw the deal.
- Meta agreed in December to buy Manus for more than $2 billion, targeting the startup’s “AI agent” software that can carry out multi-step tasks with little human input.
- China’s Ministry of Commerce opened a review in January to test the acquisition against export-control, technology-export and foreign-investment rules.
- In March, Manus co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao were summoned to Beijing and barred from leaving China during the regulatory review, according to multiple reports.
- The decision underscores tighter control of high-value AI assets, with officials signaling that relocating teams to Singapore offers no shield and that Chinese firms should avoid U.S. funding without approval.