Meta Blocked by China, Manus AI Acquisition Ordered to be Cancelled

Meta’s ambition to bolster its artificial intelligence (AI) business through the acquisition of the AI startup Manus has been blocked midway. This is because the Chinese government has officially requested the tech giant founded by Mark Zuckerberg to cancel the plan to purchase the Manus AI startup. The acquisition of Manus AI by Meta, valued at $2 billion (approximately Rp33.8 trillion), was first announced on 29 December 2025. After four months, the acquisition has been ordered to be halted by China. Earlier this week, China’s state planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, firmly requested that Meta and Manus withdraw the agreement. Manus itself is no ordinary startup. The company develops versatile AI agents capable of performing various complex tasks, from market research and coding to data analysis, without human intervention. Their product, released in March last year, was even dubbed a new rival to DeepSeek. Manus was originally born in China, founded by Xiao Hong and Tao Zhang, before relocating its operations to Singapore. This move is known as “Singapore-washing”, a strategy used by several startups to avoid regulatory pressures from Beijing while gaining access to global investors. However, this has not stopped the Chinese government, which has recently become increasingly aggressive in keeping AI talent and technology within the country. On the other hand, the United States also has strict rules that limit investments in AI companies rooted in China. Therefore, since it was announced in December 2025, Meta’s acquisition of Manus AI has indeed been a concern for these two major world powers. Meanwhile, Manus AI has also come under the spotlight because this AI startup is in a phase of very rapid growth. This achievement has led Manus to be dubbed the fastest-growing AI startup in the world, breaking through an ARR of $100 million.