Meta's acquisition has been banned in China! Manus: Will resume operations as an independent company

AI agent company Manus announced that Meta's acquisition of Manus has been prohibited due to requirements under China's foreign investment security review, and the company will resume operations as an independent entity.

At the end of December 2025, Meta officially announced plans to acquire Manus for approximately $2 billion, a deal that was seen as one of Meta's largest M&A projects in recent years.

On April 27, 2026, the Office of the Foreign Investment Security Review Working Mechanism of the National Development and Reform Commission issued a prohibition decision, requiring both parties to rescind the acquisition arrangement and restore the status quo ante. This marks the first publicly halted foreign acquisition of an AI enterprise in China since the implementation of the Measures for the Security Review of Foreign Investment.

The regulator determined that the transaction posed national security-related risks that could not be eliminated through additional conditions.

Since then, Meta and Manus have initiated business separation efforts, gradually cutting off data-sharing channels between the two parties. Manus employees can no longer access Meta's internal systems, and Meta teams have also stopped using Manus-related tools.

Manus's announcement indicates that the company's equity structure and operating entities will be restored and will no longer be part of the Meta system. The company will maintain an independent R&D and commercialization model, continue iterating on general-purpose AI agent products, and provide automated task processing and intelligent digital employee services to the global market.

Manus is an AI agent focused on autonomous execution capabilities, capable of automatically decomposing tasks and invoking various tools to complete complex work such as research, data analysis, and document processing. Since its product launch, it has attracted significant attention from developers and enterprise users in overseas markets.

This case will serve as an important reference for cross-border AI acquisitions. The regulator's enforcement adheres to the principle of substance over form—companies cannot circumvent security review obligations by relocating their registration or adjusting team structures. Cross-border transactions involving core AI technology and domestic data must fully complete the statutory filing process.