China vetoed the $2 billion Meta Manus deal after a months-long investigation

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), China’s top economic planner, said Monday it had blocked Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of Manus, an artificial intelligence startup founded by Chinese engineers that moved to Singapore before being acquired by Mark Zuckerberg late last year.

The move represents one of China’s most significant interventions in a cross-border deal, one that extends beyond US-China tensions and extends to the broader AI industry. For Meta, it could deal a major blow to its ambitions for fast-moving AI agents.

With no explanation provided, China’s National Development and Reform Commission ordered both parties to cancel the deal entirely.

“The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has taken the decision to ban foreign investment in the Manus project in accordance with laws and regulations, and has asked relevant parties to withdraw the takeover deal,” she said.

But the situation is far from clear. About 100 Manus employees have already moved to Meta’s Singapore offices from March, with the founders taking on executive roles. CEO Xiao Hong now reports directly to Meta COO Javier Olivan. CEO Manus Hong and chief scientist Yichao Ji are said to be under an exit ban, preventing them from leaving mainland China.

“The transaction fully complied with applicable law. We expect to reach an appropriate resolution to the investigation,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch.

Founded in 2022 by Hong, Ji and Tao Zhang, Manos moved its headquarters from China to Singapore around mid-2025. Just a few months later, Meta came knocking on the door. The company announced its acquisition of Manus in December 2025 for approximately $2 billion to $3 billion, with plans to integrate its agent technology directly into Meta AI.

Meta has agreed to acquire Singapore-based AI startup Manus, with the deal requiring a complete exit from Chinese ownership and operations, according to Nikkei Asia. But the company’s origins go back to China. Manos’ founders previously founded their parent company, Butterfly Effect, in Beijing in 2022 before moving to Singapore. This backdrop has drawn scrutiny in Washington, where Senator John Cornyn has already raised concerns about Benchmark’s investment in the company, questioning whether American capital should flow into a China-linked company, TechCrunch noted, citing Cornyn’s post on X.

Manos did not respond to TechCrunch’s request for comment.