China blocks Meta's $2 billion purchase of startup Manus after months-long investigation

China has formally ordered Meta to unwind its acquisition of Manus, a startup valued at about $2 billion that was meant to become the centerpiece of Mark Zuckerberg's company in AI agents. The decision follows an investigation that dragged on for several months.

Manus is a Chinese startup building autonomous AI agents that can carry out complex tasks in a browser and operating system without human involvement: filling in forms, searching for information, managing files and interacting with web services. The project drew wide international attention in early 2025, when demo videos spread across all the major tech platforms. Riding the hype, Manus was called not just a ChatGPT rival but the next stage of consumer AI: from conversation to action.

Meta announced its intention to buy the startup in late 2025. The deal was valued at roughly $2 billion and was supposed to strengthen the company's position in the race for AI agents, where OpenAI (with Operator), Google (with Gemini Actions) and Anthropic (with Computer Use) are currently competing. For Meta, it would have meant not only a finished product but also a team with rare expertise in autonomous agent systems.

However, Chinese regulators opened an antitrust review right after the announcement. Their logic is clear: Manus was created in China, and handing control of its technology to an American corporation would mean strategic AI developments leaving the country. Amid growing technological confrontation between the US and China, Beijing is taking an increasingly hard line on exactly this kind of deal.

According to TechCrunch's sources, Chinese authorities formally ordered Meta to terminate the agreement and wind down any integration that may have begun. Meta has not yet issued an official statement. The fate of Manus itself also remains unclear: the startup, which was on the verge of the biggest exit in its history, now has to look for new investors or strategic partners, most likely within the Chinese market.

The blocked deal is a symptom of a broader process. After export restrictions on chips, pressure on TikTok and barriers to American investment in China's tech sector, retaliatory regulatory measures from Beijing are becoming the norm. AI agents have landed at the center of this confrontation: the technology is too strategically important to let it fall under the control of a foreign corporation.

For Meta, the outcome is unambiguous: the company will have to either build agent capabilities in-house or find an acquisition target outside China. Either way, its gap with competitors in this segment risks widening: OpenAI and Google did not stand still while the Manus deal was under review.

*Meta is designated an extremist organization and banned in Russia.