"The National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top macroeconomic regulator, unceremoniously posted on Monday that it had 'decided to block the foreign acquisition of the Manus project and require the parties to unwind the deal.'"
"The blocked deal also shows how quickly the U.S. and Chinese AI ecosystems are decoupling, as both Washington and Beijing now seek to maintain control of strategic technologies and prevent them from leaking to the other."
"Manus first grabbed the global spotlight in early 2025 when, in the wake of DeepSeek's shock to global markets, its parent company-then called 'Butterfly Effect'-unveiled an AI agent that its founders promised was 'truly autonomous.'"
China's National Development and Reform Commission has blocked Meta's $2 billion acquisition of AI startup Manus, requiring the deal to be unwound. This decision complicates Meta's AI strategy, as Manus employees have already joined Meta's team and investors have received their shares. The blockage reflects the growing decoupling of U.S. and Chinese AI ecosystems, with both nations aiming to control strategic technologies. Despite the setback, Meta's shares rose 0.5% in trading following the announcement.
Read at Fortune
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