Meta has erected a data firewall between itself and Manus, the Chinese-founded agentic AI platform it acquired for $2 billion in December 2025. Since the start of June, Manus staff have been barred from accessing Meta’s internal data systems, and Meta employees can no longer use Manus tools for internal projects, according to Bloomberg via The Next Web.
An internal memo instructed staff to migrate existing Manus projects onto Meta’s own systems and not to start new work on the platform. Meta is “sunsetting” Manus, the memo said.
Why Beijing Ordered the Unwind
China’s National Development and Reform Commission ordered the deal reversed in April 2026, after a four-month regulatory probe that began almost immediately after the acquisition closed. The NDRC concluded that the transaction violated foreign investment and technology export rules, despite Manus having relocated its headquarters and key staff from China to Singapore in 2025.
The probe escalated in March when Chinese authorities restricted co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao from leaving the country and summoned them to Beijing for questioning. The message to Chinese AI founders was direct: incorporating in Singapore does not put you beyond Beijing’s regulatory reach.
The $1 Billion Buyback Plan
Manus’s three founders, Xiao Hong, Ji Yichao, and Zhang Tao, are exploring a roughly $1 billion external fundraise to finance a buyback at a valuation matching the $2 billion Meta originally paid, Bloomberg reported last month. The founders may contribute personal funds to cover the remainder. If the buyback proceeds, the next step would involve restructuring Manus as a Chinese joint venture ahead of a potential Hong Kong IPO.
What Remains Connected
Despite the operational split, Manus has continued shipping features. It has integrated data from Similarweb, added e-commerce functionality from Shopify, and as of this week still gives users the option to connect with Meta’s Ads Manager, Instagram, Gmail, and GitHub. That partial connectivity raises questions about how complete the separation actually is.
Manus staff have moved into Meta’s Singapore offices. Investors including Tencent, ZhenFund, and HSG have already received their proceeds from the original acquisition, complicating any attempt to fully reverse the financial mechanics of the deal.
China’s Expanding AI Acquisition Veto
Manus launched in invitation-only beta in March 2025 with a demo video that drew over one million views in 20 hours, showcasing an autonomous agent capable of browsing the web, writing code, managing files, and completing multi-step tasks without human supervision. The entire arc from viral launch to $2 billion exit to regulatory demolition took less than a year.
China has since formalized tougher outbound-investment rules that give regulators an expanded toolkit for blocking cross-border AI transactions involving technology, talent, or intellectual property with Chinese origin, regardless of where the company is incorporated. For US acquirers eyeing Chinese-founded AI agent startups, the Meta-Manus unwind is now the reference case for post-close regulatory risk.