China blocked Meta's $2B acquisition of Singapore-registered AI startup Manus, signaling a shift in scrutiny beyond incorporation, impacting future international ventures for Chinese tech firms.
The Verge investigation found Manus AI (Meta's $2B acquisition) ran an advertising campaign paying content creators to promote its AI tool as an easy side hustle capable of generating $5,000/month. Creators on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube posted near-identical hype videos without disclosing their paid relationships with Manus. The ads, which claimed the work takes less than 10 minutes, did not clearly label themselves as advertisements. Legal experts say the undisclosed commercial relationships likely violate platform policies and advertising laws in multiple jurisdictions including the UK, EU, and US.
It could be “time-consuming”, “complex” and “difficult” for Meta Platforms to unwind its acquisition of Manus, an artificial intelligence start-up that originated in China, given how far the deal has gone, according to analysts. Beijing’s order on Monday blocking the US$2 billion deal came roughly four months after the acquisition was announced. During that time, Manus – developer of what it described as the world’s first general AI agent – provided Meta employees with unlimited-usage accounts,...
Çin'in Ulusal Kalkınma ve Reform Komisyonu (NDRC), ABD'li Meta şirketinin yapay zeka uygulaması Manus'u satın almasının yatırım kurallarını ihlal ettiğini tespit etti. Vuhan merkezli Butterfly Effect PTE. LTD. tarafından geliştirilen Manus, Mart 2025'te piyasaya sürüldükten sonra Aralık 2025'te Meta'ya 2-3 milyar dolara satılmıştı. NDRC devir işlemini yasaklayarak ilgili tarafların transfer bedelini iade etmesini istedi. Çin Ticaret Bakanlığı Ocak 2026'da soruşturma başlatmıştı.
