Beijing (AFP) – AI startup Manus said Tuesday it had resumed independent operations, months after China blocked Facebook-owner Meta from buying the Chinese-developed, Singapore-based firm. The two companies announced in December that Meta had agreed to acquire Manus, an artificial intelligence agent, in a deal reportedly worth around $2 billion.
But China’s top economic planning body said in April that it prohibited the deal, and required “the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction.” Around the same time, Beijing also reportedly restricted travel for two of Manus’ co-founders, preventing them from leaving China.
“Manus has formally resumed independent operations,” the company said in a statement posted to its website. Some users would be required to back up and restore their data, and would face a “temporary interruption to access,” it said. “Our founding team will continue to lead the company,” it added.
Manus announced in August its intention to return to independent operations, saying the move was “part of our separation from Meta.” “We must take this step to comply with regulatory requirements in specific parts of the world,” it said at the time. Analysts warned when the deal was announced that it might fall foul of regulators, at a time of fierce technological rivalry between Washington and Beijing.
Meta previously told AFP in a statement that “the transaction complied fully with applicable law.” China has been cracking down on a practice known as “Singapore-washing,” in which companies leave the country to take advantage of looser regulations, global customers, or funding opportunities.
Manus, a product of CEO Xiao Hong’s ambition to create a Chinese company with world recognition, abruptly shifted its approach in 2025 when the firm laid off dozens of staff in Beijing and Wuhan and relocated core personnel to Singapore. It also began blocking access for Chinese users and withdrew its presence on Chinese social media.
Woody Ye, partner at Junsheng Consulting, told AFP that part of the reason for Manus’s fallout was its failure to properly handle its legal issues. “The core of this is that some startups and their founders don’t understand compliance well,” he said. After the Manus episode, “people will pay closer attention to investment structures, operational frameworks, and future exit strategies,” he added.
© 2024 AFP
