Meta Unwinds $2 Billion Manus Deal as Beijing Orders National Security Divestiture
Updated
Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 14
Meta Unwinds $2 Billion Manus Deal as Beijing Orders National Security Divestiture
1 articles · Updated · TechCrunch · Jun 14
Summary
Meta has started dismantling its $2 billion acquisition of Manus, cutting the Chinese-founded AI startup off from internal systems and stopping data sharing as the companies move toward full separation.
Beijing ordered the divestiture about two months ago on national security grounds, after regulators scrutinized the deal for possible breaches of technology export controls and foreign investment rules.
Manus' co-founders have separately held preliminary talks to raise about $1 billion from outside investors to buy the startup back from Meta, potentially enabling a Chinese joint venture and a future Hong Kong listing.
The unwinding fits a broader clampdown on China's AI sector: authorities have expanded travel restrictions on researchers and executives and are requiring approval for top firms to take U.S. investment.
Manus, which moved staff to Singapore in 2025 and agreed to sell to Meta in December, has kept launching products, including new Similarweb and Shopify integrations, even as the takeover unravels.
As Beijing forces Meta to divest a key AI asset, is the era of cross-border tech acquisitions officially over?
With the US now targeting AI software, will Meta’s open-source models become its biggest geopolitical liability?
Beijing’s 2026 Meta-Manus Intervention: How China’s First Unwinding of a Completed AI Acquisition Redefines Global Tech Regulation
Overview
In April 2026, Beijing’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) made history by ordering Meta to unwind its completed acquisition of Manus, an AI startup that had recently secured major funding. This was China’s first public block of a finished AI deal and signaled a new era of strict scrutiny over foreign takeovers of Chinese technology assets, especially those tied to national security. The move sent a strong warning to Chinese startups considering relocating to places like Singapore for foreign investment, highlighting China’s determination to protect its critical tech and assert control in the global AI race.