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Benzinga
  • 12 hours ago
China's National Development and Reform Commission called on Meta to unwind its $2B acquisition of Manus AI, ordering the parties to withdraw the transaction under existing foreign investment laws. Manus was founded in China and later relocated to Singapore, where it develops general-purpose AI agents. China's intervention alarmed tech founders using Singapore relocation strategies to avoid scrutiny from Beijing and Washington. Meta shares fell 0.2% in premarket trading.
Transcript
00:00It's Benzinga bringing Wall Street to Main Street.
00:02China's National Development and Reform Commission on Monday called for Meta
00:06to unwind its $2 billion acquisition of Manus and ask the parties to withdraw the transaction,
00:12according to CNBC. The commission said it blocked foreign investment in Manus under
00:17existing laws and ordered the parties to withdraw the acquisition. The deal had drawn scrutiny in
00:22China and Washington, while Beijing has increased efforts to discourage AI founders from moving
00:28business offshore. China's intervention alarmed tech founders and venture capitalists who were
00:33using Singapore relocation strategies to avoid scrutiny from Beijing and Washington.
00:39Manus was founded in China and later relocated to Singapore, where it develops general-purpose
00:43AI agents. China's Ministry of Commerce began reviewing the deal in January.
00:48Shares of Meta were 0.2% lower in pre-market trading.
00:52For all things money, visit Benzinga.com.
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