China blocks Zuck’s acquisition of AI outfit Manus

Legal 5 China blocks Zuck’s acquisition of AI outfit Manus 5 Back to the drawing board for Meta's AI ambitions Simon Sharwood Tue 28 Apr 2026 // 02:09 UTC China has blocked Meta’s acquisition of AI upstart Manus. A brief Monday statement from the Middle Kingdom’s foreign investment regulator says Beijing “made a decision to prohibit foreign investment in the Manus project in accordance with laws and regulations, and has required the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction.” Manus burst onto the scene in March 2025 with what it called a “general agent” that used a hosted Ubuntu desktop to undertake tasks on users’ behalf. The company and its tech caught the eye of social networking giant Meta, which bought Manus in December 2025. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=2&amp;c=2afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> Manus made itself easy prey by moving its headquarters to Singapore to evade Chinese regulators and gain easier access to capital. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=3&amp;c=33afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> China took a dim view of that idea and, in January 2026, started an investigation into the acquisition. That investigation concluded with the decision to prevent the transaction that would have seen Manus become part of Meta. <a href="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" target="_blank"> <img src="https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ad?co=1&amp;iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/legal&amp;sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&amp;tile=4&amp;c=44afA5jIQR2G13JQ7x--uphAAAAdI&amp;t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D426raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0" alt=""> </a> Beijing and Washington both…

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