Overview
- Manus said on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, that it will soon return to operating as an independent company and has told affected users to back up data created on or after Dec. 29, 2025.
- China’s National Development and Reform Commission ordered the parties to withdraw the roughly $2 billion acquisition in late April, triggering a months‑long unwinding of the December deal.
- Manus notified users that backups must be completed before a late‑August cutoff and that certain data generated since the Meta announcement will be deleted during a short service interruption followed by a restoration window.
- Meta has been separating Manus from its systems as it unwinds the transaction, and reporting says some investors are discussing retaking stakes in Manus, with Tencent among names cited.
- The episode highlights Beijing’s clampdown on so‑called "Singapore‑washing," reflects broader foreign‑investment reviews that began in 2021, and raises new questions about data portability, M&A risk and how governments will police AI transfers.