Manus eyes $1B raise to unwind Meta's $2B acquisition after Beijing blocks deal
What's the deal? Manus AI, the Singapore-headquartered agentic AI startup founded in China, is weighing a fundraise of up to $1B to buy itself back from Meta Platforms after Beijing ordered the $2B-plus acquisition unwound.
The company's three co-founders — Xiao HongDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Ji YichaoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Zhang TaoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → — are in discussions about a round at a valuation that would at least match what Meta paid in December, according to Bloomberg. The founders may also chip in their own money.
If they proceed, the next step could involve setting Manus up as a Chinese joint venture with its new backers, ahead of a potential Hong Kong IPO. The funds would cover the buyback, the technical work of separating Manus's technology from Meta's systems, and operating capital for the standalone business.
Why now? China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) ordered Meta to unwind the acquisition in late April, citing violations of Chinese investment rules and concerns about strategically important AI technology flowing to an American company. Meta faces a deadline of weeks, not months.
Manus was founded in China but relocated its headquarters and core team to Singapore in 2025 after a US-led venture round. By December, it was legally a Singaporean entity. Beijing's position is that the Chinese origin of the technology and the team's prior employment history still bring the company within scope of Chinese investment-review rules.
What could go wrong? The discussions remain preliminary, and the founders may ultimately decide against proceeding. The biggest practical hurdle: much of Manus's agentic AI technology has already been integrated into Meta's systems, making a clean separation difficult.
Reversing a major acquisition within months of completion is virtually unheard of. That said, some investors have reportedly expressed interest in joining a repurchase because Manus is projected to generate about $1B in revenue in 2026. Valuations remain fluid, and the complexity of carving out integrated technology adds legal and technical risk on both sides.
The signal: This saga carries two significant precedents. First, it is the most visible example of Beijing extending cross-border investment enforcement to a Singapore-incorporated company with Chinese-origin technology. Legal analysts have flagged the case as material for any US-led AI deal involving a target with Chinese roots — redomiciling to Singapore is no longer a clean way to neutralise Chinese investment-review risk.
Second, it underscores Singapore's growing role as an AI hub. OpenAI announced a $235M applied-AI lab in the city-state the same week. For Manus, which reportedly has a $100M-plus annual recurring revenue run rate achieved in under eight months, landing as a well-capitalised standalone company positions it to compete in the fast-growing agentic AI category — just on different terms than its founders originally planned.
Read more: Bloomberg · TNW · Reuters
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