China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) has blocked Meta's $2 billion acquisition of Manus, an agentic AI startup founded by Chinese engineers that had relocated to Singapore. The NDRC ordered both parties to unwind the deal without providing an explanation. The situation is complicated by the fact that around 100 Manus employees have already moved into Meta's Singapore offices, and the startup's co-founders are reportedly under exit bans preventing them from leaving mainland China. The deal had been announced in December 2025, with Meta planning to integrate Manus's agent technology into Meta AI. The block represents one of China's most significant cross-border deal interventions and could set back Meta's ambitions in the AI agents space.
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