China is pushing Manus toward a new set of owners after asking Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) to cancel its $2 billion purchase of the AI agent startup.
According to the Financial Times, Tencent Holdings (HKEX: 0700) will own the maximum stake, but not more than 50 percent. This means that Manus will remain an independent entity and will continue its operations from Singapore rather than becoming part of Tencent.
The new deal will retain the same $2 billion valuation that was used when Meta bought Manus in December 2025. Previous investors such as Tencent, ZhenFund and HSG are participating in the talks, along with Manus executives. Other investors could still join before an agreement is reached.
China is forcing investors to rebuild Manus after Meta spun off the company
Beijing ordered Meta to cancel the purchase in April 2026, saying the deal violated local investment rules. Manus co-founder Xiao Hong and two other founders were summoned to Beijing and then banned from leaving China. Officials had already described the sale as a “conspiratorial” attempt to deplete the country’s technology base.
Meta bought Manus just months after the startup moved its headquarters and key engineering team from China to Singapore. The company was first established in China. After completing the acquisition, Meta quickly connected Manus to its broader platform, including its advertising tools and systems.
This setup has since been dismantled. Meta separated the two companies and ended data transfers between them. The legal and financial reversal remains incomplete, leaving investors trying to rebuild Manus while the original purchase is officially dismantled.
Beijing’s order also tells other Chinese tech founders that Singapore cannot be treated as an easy stop before selling to a US buyer. China is tightening its control over AI companies, engineers and valuable intellectual property as competition with the United States increases.
Tencent shares fell 2% in Hong Kong on Thursday after news of the talks became public. The proposed investment would deepen the relationship Tencent already has with Manos and Xiao. Tencent also sees a larger stake in Manus as beneficial to its work on AI clients.
Tencent supports Manus’ growth as investors prepare for Hong Kong listing
Investors returning to Manus believe the company can continue to expand without Meta and later seek a Hong Kong listing. Manus reached nearly $500 million in annual recurring revenue earlier this year, well above the level recorded when Meta agreed to buy it. One of the people involved warned that the company may struggle to maintain this pace without access to the Meta network, its products and its customers.
A flotation in Hong Kong would likely require Manus to change its corporate structure in order for Chinese regulators to approve it. The company will also need to prove that its Singapore base does not put key assets or control beyond Beijing’s reach.
Tencent brings scale, capital and a massive investment portfolio to the talks. It is the world’s largest video game seller and one of the largest listed companies in China by market capitalization. Its operations cover social media, music, web services, online shopping, mobile games, payments, smartphones, internet products, and multiplayer games.
The group operates WeChat, Tencent QQ and QQ.com. Its value exceeded $500 billion in 2018, making it the first Asian technology company to exceed this level. By February 2022, it was the world’s 10th largest company by market capitalization and the most valuable publicly traded business in China.
Boston Consulting Group and FAST ranked Tencent among the 50 most innovative companies in the world in 2015, 2018, and 2020. Tencent has stakes in more than 600 companies and increased its focus on Asian technology startups in 2017.
Tencent’s market capitalization approached $1 trillion in January 2021 before falling sharply. It recovered by November 2025. Tencent Holdings also ranked 35th on the 2023 Forbes Global 2000 list.
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