Meta* Cuts Ties with Chinese Startup Manus Following Beijing’s Order

Meta* has completed the process of separating from Chinese startup Manus, acquired for 143,5 млрд ₽ last December. According to Bloomberg, Manus employees lost access to Meta’s internal systems at the beginning of this month, and the use of their tools for internal tasks within the company has been prohibited. An internal memo confirms that the Manus platform is being decommissioned, with all ongoing projects to be migrated to Meta’s own infrastructure.

The decision follows an April order from China’s National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), which demanded the annulment of the deal as part of a foreign investment security review. This marks the first case of Beijing forcibly dissolving a completed cross-border deal in the artificial intelligence sector, despite Manus relocating its headquarters and key team from Beijing to Singapore in mid-2025.

The startup’s founders—Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao, and Zhang Tao—are negotiating to raise approximately 71,8 млрд ₽ to buy back the company from Meta*. However, experts doubt the success of this initiative, as Manus’s core technologies may have already been integrated into Meta’s products. Meanwhile, Chinese regulators are demanding the return of the startup’s assets to their pre-deal state, which is technically challenging for AI models and know-how.

Beijing’s decision reinforces the trend of tightening control over technological assets. Previously, Chinese authorities blocked shipments of Nvidia H200 chips despite U.S. approval, while local companies like DeepSeek are actively developing solutions based on domestic hardware. In Chinese state media, Manus was portrayed as a symbol of national AI ambitions, making its sale to Meta* a high-profile case for regulators.