China’s National Security Commission, led by President Xi Jinping, has branded Meta’s $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus a “conspiratorial” attempt to hollow out the country’s technology base, the Financial Times reports. The assessment triggered a multi-agency review of the deal.
Several bodies are now examining the transaction using export controls, investment and competition laws. Manus, a startup specializing in “agentic” AI, relocated its headquarters from Beijing to Singapore in the summer of 2025 and was acquired by Meta in December. Co-founders Xiao Hong and Ji Yichao were summoned by China’s top economic planner NDRC in March and have since been barred from leaving the country.
Some Chinese investors are reportedly discussing unwinding the deal. Meta said the transaction complied with applicable law. Beijing wants to prevent other companies from following this model.
AI News Without the Hype – Curated by Humans
Subscribe to THE DECODER for ad-free reading, a weekly AI newsletter, our exclusive “AI Radar” frontier report six times a year, full archive access, and access to our comment section.