AI agent startup Manus announced it will soon resume operating as an independent company as Meta’s roughly $2 billion acquisition of the firm unwinds, after China’s National Development and Reform Commission ordered the deal reversed for violating rules on foreign investment in Chinese-origin technology. Manus was founded in China in 2022 before relocating to Singapore, and Meta had acquired it in December 2025; regulators intervened in April, and Meta has since cut Manus off from its internal systems and barred its own staff from using Manus tools as the two companies separate operations. As part of the unwind, Manus said users must back up data generated on or after December 29, 2025, ahead of a deletion window opening August 23.
