Meta is preparing to unwind the acquisition of Manus after the deal was blocked by China, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal. China’s National Development and Reform Commission had said in a brief statement that the decision to prohibit foreign investment in Manus was made in accordance with laws and regulations. It added that it has asked the parties involved to withdraw the acquisition transaction.
The WSJ report stated that the Singapore-based AI startup’s investors, which include venture capital firm Benchmark, have already received their returns. Meanwhile, several former Manus investors in Asia, including Tencent, HSG and ZhenFund, are planning to cooperate if Meta proceeds with unwinding the deal.
Beijing had given Meta and Manus a preliminary deadline of several weeks to reverse the transaction and fully restore Manus’ Chinese assets to their original state, according to the report. Chinese regulators have also considered imposing penalties on Manus and Meta if the deal cannot be fully rescinded.
READ: China blocks Meta’s acquisition of AI startup Manus (April 27, 2026)
This comes weeks ahead of a planned mid-May summit in Beijing between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping. China’s commerce ministry announced an investigation into the sale in January, days after Meta completed the acquisition.
Manus is known for building general‑purpose autonomous AI agents capable of completing complex tasks like coding, research, planning, and data analysis without step‑by-step human guidance. The deal is one of Meta’s largest acquisitions outside of WhatsApp and Scale AI.
Manus said it had passed $100 million in annual recurring revenue, or ARR, in December 2025, eight months on from launching a product, which it claimed made it the fastest startup in the world at the time to hit the milestone from $0.
The AI company raised $75 million in a round led by U.S. VC Benchmark in April 2025.
READ: China bars co-founders of AI company Manus from leaving country (March 25, 2026)
While announcing the deal last year, Meta said it would conduct an assessment and investigation into how the acquisition complied with laws and regulations concerning export controls, technology import and export, and overseas investment.
When asked about China’s move to block Meta’s Manus acquisition, APEC Senior Officials Meeting Chairman Chen Xu told reporters that it is “important that all parties act in a spirit of mutual benefit.”
Chen said he did not know the specifics of the issue, however, he said that “if such an issue can be handled properly, it can help facilitate more substantive discussions in APEC,” according to an official English translation.