Meta Platforms Inc acquired the Chinese-founded AI startup Manus in December 2025 for about $2 billion [1, 2, 3, 4]. Manus was founded in China in 2022 and moved its headquarters to Singapore in 2025 before the acquisition [1, 4].
In April 2026, China's National Development and Reform Commission blocked the acquisition and ordered Meta to unwind the deal due to regulatory concerns [1, 3, 4]. By May 2026, Manus and Meta had completed their operational separation and stopped sharing data [1].
Manus announced on August 11 it will soon resume independent operations, saying, "Manus will soon return to operating as an independent company, which will see us continue to serve our millions of users around the world. This is part of our separation from Meta; we must take this step to comply with regulatory requirements in specific parts of the world" [1].
The company warned that some customer accounts and data may be affected during the transition, with the risk of data deletion. Users with data generated on or after December 29, 2025, have been urged to back up their data by August 23, 2026, to avoid loss [1, 2, 4].
Tencent Holdings is poised to become Manus’s largest shareholder by purchasing the shares Meta is divesting as part of the unwind [3]. The reversal marks a rare case where geopolitical and regulatory pressures have forced the undoing of a completed international tech acquisition [1, 4].
Manus’s founders are reported to have raised about $1 billion to potentially repurchase shares and support the company’s independent future [1]. Users are advised to complete data backups before the August 23 deadline to prevent data loss [2].
