TechFlow News, April 28: According to The Wall Street Journal, Meta is preparing to unwind its acquisition of AI startup Manus. If Meta proceeds with unwinding the deal, several of Manus’s former Asian investors—including Tencent, Sequoia China, and ZhenFund—plan to cooperate accordingly. Additionally, both companies have been ordered to terminate the transaction and fully restore Manus’s assets in China to their pre-acquisition status, including retrieving any data or technology previously transferred to Meta.
Manus is a Singapore-headquartered startup with ties to China, focused on developing AI agents. Meta completed the $2.5 billion acquisition in December last year and has since rapidly integrated the related technology into its own systems. Should the deal ultimately be unwound, both parties will need to separate the already-integrated technologies and systems.
Earlier reports indicated that China banned the transaction on April 27, citing national security concerns.
