The Chinese government has stopped dead $2 billion acquisition of an artificial intelligence startup hand.
China National Development and Reform Commission Announce The government announced on Monday (April 27) that it would “ban foreign investment in the Manus project” and called on the companies to “withdraw the takeover deal.”
PYMNTS has reached out to Meta for comment but has not yet received a response.
The committee’s decision comes months after a report from CNBC said Chinese regulators were Investigate the dealfocusing on whether the acquisition is in line with the country’s export control laws.
dead Announce It plans to acquire Singapore-based Manus late last year as part of a larger effort to bolster its AI offerings.
“Manus already serves the daily needs of millions of users and businesses around the world,” Meta said in its announcement. “She fired her first general I have an agent Earlier this year, it had already provided more than 147 trillion tokens and created more than 80 million virtual computers. We plan to expand this service to include more companies.”
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This deal represents one of the most notable examples of a US tech giant purchasing an AI startup with roots in the AI and startup spaces in Asia.
Manos got Chinese government support in March of 2025 after it introduced an AI agent that can produce detailed research reports, create custom websites, and work with AI models from companies like Anthropic and China’s Alibaba.
Obtaining Manus would give the Meta “wide range, Monetized AI product “With direct consumer payments,” PYMNTS wrote in a separate report on Dec. 30.
Although the tech giant has invested in Artificial intelligence infrastructure It promoted open source models through the Llama model group, and monetization was indirect, largely related to advertising and sharing across social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram.
“By acquiring Manus, Meta gains technology and distribution, along with immediate exposure to subscription revenue and insight into consumer willingness to pay for AI-powered assistance,” the report added. “The deal also shortens the timeline for rolling out premium AI offerings without having to build a paid user base from scratch.”
In related news, PYMNTS wrote earlier this month about how Meta is positioned as a social media platform Gives her an advantage over other AI players, thanks to years of accumulated public user data.
“No other AI company holds this position,” that report said. “OpenAI Knows what users have requested previously. Google Knows what they are looking for. Meta knows what they buy, who they follow, and what they pass on.
