• by Colin Kirkland , 6 hours ago

One of Meta's largest investments in the AI race involved a $2 billion acquisition of Chinese-owned startup Manus at the end of last year. Now, after integrating the company’s autonomous AI agent technology into its Ads Manager, Meta's deal has been blocked by China’s leading economic planner.

“The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has 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,” the NDRC wrote on Monday.

The NDRC has offered no additional explanation of its decision to block Meta’s acquisition of Manus, a company founded in 2022 by Chinese engineers who relocated the startup to Singapore last summer in order to avoid U.S. chip restriction.

Shortly after its move to Singapore, Meta announced its multibillion-dollar acquisition of the company, with plans to integrate Manus’ general-purpose agents across its consumer and business products, including the Meta AI chatbot and Ads Manager, as well as Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

Upon purchasing Manus, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg attempted to quell scrutiny from lawmakers in Washington, stating that the startup would no longer have ties to Chinese investors, with a spokesperson adding that “Manus AI will discontinue its services and operations in China.”

Originally founded in Beijing by its parent company Butterfly Effect, Manus’s decision to sell to Meta received scrutiny from China regarding recent efforts to keep Chinese AI founders’ business operating from within the nation.

The NDRC's decision comes after Manus relocated around 100 employees to Meta's Singapore offices and the restructuring of executive roles. Notably, however, Manus CEO Xiao Hong and Chief Scientist Yichao Ji have been placed under a travel ban by China since late March.

As part of its long term AI plans, Meta has already integrated Manus into its Ads Manager platform in order to help automate the company’s ad partners’ business tasks, such as data analysis, report generation, and more.

Zuckerberg has also announced plans for Manus to play a role in developing consumer-facing AI products, including agentic shopping tools designed to help consumers discover products from the businesses in Meta's catalog, as well as Meta premium subscription offerings.

“The transaction complied fully with applicable law,” a Meta spokesperson told TechCrunch on Monday. “We anticipate an appropriate resolution to the inquiry."